The Second Try
by Lady among the trees
Summary: What if Severus, Lily and the Marauders found themselves back in their eleven-year-old bodies after their deaths? How will they react when they meet again in the Hogwarts express?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.

Author notes: Hi! This is my first fanfic though I have read many awesome works of art by many awesome authors. This is inspired by one such author's story - 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out. Also, I do not have a beta so any mistakes which are found are my own. Hope you like it!

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter One: Severus Snape.**

Severus opened his eyes with a start and a scream in his throat. It was dark and he could see Nagini slithering towards him, jaws open and to rip his throat out. This didn't feel like the floor of the shrieking shack, it was too soft. Was he dead? Was the battle over? Nagini had ripped his throat out, he had to be dead. But his hands felt warm. His jumping heart told him he was breathing. So what had happened? And where was he? It was dark.

He looked around as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He saw a small bed that he was lying in and the curtains on the window blocking out the light. What was this place? His hand moved on its accord and switched on a small bedside lamp and then closed around his throat. He was trembling. That's when he noticed. His hands were small. He stumbled over to a door that looked like it led to a bathroom where he found a mirror and looked at his face and gasped. He looked young, not more than eleven. Had he gone back in time? How did this happen?! One minute he was dying and the next he woke up looking like his eleven-year-old self.

He looked around the bathroom and recognized it. The toothbrush in a small glass, the layout- it was all familiar. Close to panic now, he ran out and looked around the room. It was his childhood home. The small calendar showed it was 29th of August with a red circle around September 1st. There was a trunk in the corner. He walked over and opened the lid with trembling hands. It was filled with second-hand books and robes. A wand was on top of the contents. He lifted the wand and felt that warm feeling as his wand recognized him and it felt good to have something familiar during this crazy trip his mind had taken.

He stood there with the wand in hand as his initial panic was soothed away by the feel of his wand. He heard the sound of door slamming and voices. Dropping the wand back into the trunk he stumbled out of his room and down the stairs taking two at a time. Running towards the kitchen he smacked into someone and his jaw almost dropped. It was his mother.

Alive.

He subtly pinched his arm to make sure this wasn't just a dream. 'Was this afterlife?' his mind gave yet another question. Why was it giving only questions and no answers?

"Careful now", his mother growled in a low voice. "Your father just got back." The smell of cheap spirits followed her words and made Severus's nose wrinkle.

'Definitely not heaven,' he thought to himself. 'Or maybe this was hell?' He slowly slipped out of the kitchen and into the backyard. He could see the shed where his mother had set up a small potions lab and added a muggle repelling charm to ensure Tobias never entered her witch's sanctuary. He fell to his knees in the soft grass. This was definitely real. The sun was up. He was in younger body with the mind of his older self.

"Holy shit!" he gasped out. What was happening? Was he given a second chance? He was eleven. That meant lily… "She's alive!"

Without even thinking, he dashed across the small yard and into the side road not even pausing when he heard his mother calling him. He had to see her!

'Wait,' his mind supplied and his steps faltered. She doesn't know he is an older man in his eleven-year-old body. What was he going to tell her? 'I am sorry for calling you a mudblood five years from now and joined the Dark Lord causing you to die and your son to grow up with your sister who hates magic? She will think I have gone completely insane!' His feet had carried him to a small park that was between their houses and he observed a girl with red hair pacing and muttering.

"Lily."

It came out as a whisper. He swallowed the lump that appeared in his throat and tried again.

"Lily!" he croaked. She paused and looked up.

"Sev." She said just as quietly. He ran across to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Lily. I am so glad to see you again." She pulled out from the hug and her eyes gave him a cursory once-over. His hand subconsciously flexed as to cover his left arm. Her emerald eyes narrowed and he took another step back, away from her when her eyes filled with murderous rage.

SLAP!

"Get away from me! Death Eater!" 'Well that eliminates her not being from the future,' he thought.

"Lil" he started.

" No! Don't you Lil me, Snape." She shot back.

"Lily! I am not a death eater yet! And I won't be. Not this time." he shouted. She paused.

"But you were. You joined him. He killed me! He killed James! What happened to my baby! Harry! What happened to my baby?!" her eyes filled with tears as she started panicking.

"Is he dead? He cast a killing curse at him, didn't he? I couldn't save him. I couldn't protect my baby!" she sunk to her knees and put her hands on her face and started sobbing. He sighed.

"No. You did protect him." She looked up with tears running down her face.

He sighed again. "When he killed you and cast a killing curse at your son, it rebound on him and destroyed him. Your son got a scar on his forehead but he lived and was called the Boy-Who-lived."

"Harry survived the killing curse?" she asked with a quavering voice.

"He did and I am sorry for my part in it." This drew the fury back in her eyes.

"You joined **him** ", she said, her fist clenched.

"I did and I regret it. I was a spy for Dumbledore and when the Dark Lord resurrected himself, I continued being a spy till I died."

"You think that excuses the people you killed? And lives you destroyed? He killed James and me! So that he could get to my son! "

"I also died for your son Lily," he said quietly.

"What…?"

He sighed again. "It's a long story." Just as he was about to begin, her sister appeared and yelled for breakfast.

"Meet you after breakfast?" she asked.

"Yes. Alright" he replied and watched as she wiped her face while walking back towards her home.

Petunia gave a sneer as she left ahead of Lily. "Nice pyjamas Snape." He ignored her, turned on his heel and walked back.

After breakfast, he changed into his day clothes and all but ran into the small park and started pacing. He was back. 'Were they the only ones back? Were there others like them too? Dumbledore? Potter? Black? Lupin? Did Lupin even die? Shit! If Dumbledore remembered, how was he going to even face him? True he asked to kill him but still….' he was so lost in thoughts he didn't even see Lily approach until she was in front of him.

"Lily" he gave a smile. He wasn't sure she would actually return. Her face though was impassive.

"Explain Snape. Explain what happened after I died and don't even think about lying…" and so he did. She was furious when she heard about Pettigrew escaped and how Sirius was sent to prison without trial and was quite proud when he talked about her son's "adventures" throughout his school years, but when he heard about the piece of the soul of the You-Know-Who in her son's body, her face crumpled.

"We will not let it happen again Lils. We will change things this time around. I promise." he consoled her and tentatively put his arm around her and gave a mental sigh of relief when she didn't push him away. "We will be meeting them in two days." There was no need to explain who 'they' were.

"Do you think they remember? She asked.

"Maybe. But best not keep our hopes up. We have another chance of living again." He whispered to her and she nodded.

The next few days went by quickly with them discussing as too how this could have happened if any of the others remembered and Severus explaining in detail about his previous life and about Harry. He received a few stinging hexes too as a punishment for describing Harry as 'arrogant as his father' and he saw how she wished to hex her sister for not caring for harry as much as she would like. Soon it was time to board the Hogwarts express and see if there were other time travelers like them and if so, for him, which meant apologizing, and be in the receiving end of many more hexes. But he still looked forward to it. He was not going to waste this life by petty squabbles. This was a second chance to try to correct his mistakes and save the future. It was his second try at his life.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fan fiction.

Author notes: Whoa! Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed. You guys made my day! This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

Also, I do not have a beta so any mistakes which are found are my own. Hope you like it!

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter Two: Remus Lupin.**

"Avada Kedavra!"

The last thing he saw was the green light of the unforgivable hurling towards him. Then darkness. Then, something started poking him in the sides. It tickled. He batted his hand at the poker. And somebody giggled. A woman.

"Wake up sleepy head or in two days you'll sleep in on your first day at Hogwarts too."

'Can't have that. I have a reputation to maintain.' He sighed. 'Wait. The first day of Hogwarts?'

"WHAT!"

With those words, Remus shot up and with wide eyes, almost smashing his head into the woman before him.

"Mum?" She giggled at his expression and ruffled his hair.

"Relax Remus. It's still two days away."

"Wait. What? The first day of Hogwarts?" he asked hopelessly confused. 'There was a Hogwarts in the afterlife?'

"Well, yeah sleepy. The books you were devouring ever since we brought them? Remember? Did you pack? " she asked as she looked around the room and then back at him only to laugh at his bewildered expression.

"Mum."

"Yes, darling?"

"Is this heaven?"

Her eyes widened.

"What are you talking about Remus?"

"I died, right?"

"What! No darling, why would you say that!"

"But, I died. He killed me at Hogwarts," he mumbled back shakily, Dolohov's face printed in his mind's eye.

His mother pulled him into a tight hug, her face paling with his words.

"Nobody killed you, Remus. Nobody will." She pulled him out of the hug and looked at him, visibly shaken. "Don't you ever scare me like that, Remus Lupin. It's alright to be nervous but no one will know about your illness. No one will kill you over it. It was just a bad dream. It's common to have bad dreams when you are excited or nervous. I have dreamt I missed a train or two when I was younger. No more bad thoughts about your school. Do you hear me? Freshen up, love. I'll get started on the breakfast," and she kissed his cheek and left.

He sat there as if someone had petrified him. Everything his eyes saw, ears heard and nose smelled were familiar. Painfully familiar. 'Am I not dead? What is going on?! ' He saw his Hogwarts trunk, books stacked neatly next to it and a small nest of blankets and pillows. Still not believing what he saw, he rubbed his eyes with his hands and blinked. The image was the same and he noticed something else far more panicky.

Tiny. His hands were tiny. Upon pulling the blanket down, so were his legs and feet. He pinched his arm and the pain told him he was not dreaming. 'Did I get shrunk in the afterlife?' he got up and walked to the bathroom in a daze. He stripped off his pyjamas and saw himself. 'I hoped being in heaven would mean no scars. ' He stepped out of the bathroom and changed into normal clothes and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Think Lupin."

'So this was heaven? Or was it? I look like a kid and by the look of it, eleven and my Mum thinks I am alive and yet to go to Hogwarts and I have my trunk and everything …' He glanced at his calendar and his eyes almost popped out at the year. 'Is this actually happening? How on earth, have I gone back in time?'

"Breakfast is ready, Remus," his mother called out.

"Coming Mum!" he called out automatically.

'Might as well act normal and try to tackle this, one day at a time.' He saw his mother's worried gaze and gave her a soft smile. That seemed to reassure her and he tucked into his breakfast. It had been a long time since he had eaten food prepared by his mother. A VERY long time. He might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Heaven or no heaven.

He sat in his room after breakfast. He felt an insane urge to giggle. He, Remus Lupin. Werewolf. Husband and father to a new-born baby boy, had gone back in time to his eleven-year-old body. 'Crap! Tonks! Was she alright? And teddy? He had left him with Andy. He had to be alright. Harry! What had gone down after his death? Whatever happened, I know Harry would never give up. His honorary godson wouldn't. '

'Technically they weren't born yet,' his mind supplied. He laughed. 'True.' And then it hit him. This was his second chance. To make sure Harry lived a normal childhood, Sirius never suffered and to save the Potters. 'And Peter?' his mind asked and his fist clenched.

'To make sure Peter never betrays us.' His eleven-year mouth set in a grim line. He knew why Peter betrayed them. He was a coward. He did not have the courage to stand up against the Dark Lord. 'Jealousy also played a part, I suppose,' he mused. Peter always felt he was the underdog.

'I can change it. Make sure he knows that he is equal and important to the Marauders and then maybe, he won't join the Dark Lord. Oh Good Lord! He was going to get to see his friends again. Alive.' It would take all his self-control to act normal and not pull them into a hug when he saw them.

He spent the rest of the day thinking. 'Was he the only one? Did any others remember? How was he supposed to correct the mistakes of the future? Would any changes create more mistakes?'

This also meant he had to endure his transformations all over again. 'Does it make it easier? I don't think so. If the rest of the gang did not remember, would they still want to help him?'

He did not know what to think on **that** matter. On one hand, he wanted Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail to be with him and on the other; he did not want to risk their lives again.

'What if they get caught? What if I unconsciously push them to be animagus? No.' He would try not to. If he was alone in this back-in-time game, he would hide his furry little problem better. Not risk their lives and Snape's life again. He still hated that incident. He had to apologize to Snape too.

'Maybe by being friendlier? And this time, making sure James and Sirius don't pick on him? Or the other innocent first year snakes?' No more Mr. Quiet Lupin. His memories of his friends and seeing them alive would be more than enough if they didn't accept him this time. He would not let them get away with their "harmless" pranks.

He spent the rest of the days, reading his books and writing everything he remembered in detail about his life before the time-travel. Maybe if the Marauders accepted him, he would tell them after few years. 'Knowing them, James and Sirius would probably demand to know which pranks would work or fail and try to top their own pranks.' He smiled. He missed them so much. Two days. He would not waste his chance again. He had to try, for a better future.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fan fiction.

Author notes: Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed. You guys are awesome! This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

This chapter was initially hard to write but I enjoyed it in the end and I hope you do too!

Huge thanks to HogwartsDreamer113 for being my beta!

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter Three: Peter Pettigrew.**

Peter was not having a good day. It all started when the Boy-Who-Lived and his friends were captured and dragged to the Malfoy Manor. It was going well. As well as torturing for information could go, when it all went downhill. The Lovegood girl and Ollivander were missing from the dungeons, and he was tackled to the ground, his wand wrestled away by his former "owner". His silver hand found its way around his once-honorary nephew's throat. A little more pressure and Harry would be with his parents.

But Peter owed Harry a life debt and he hesitated to kill the boy. In truth, he had not wanted to kill Harry. Just like, he did not want to betray his best friends. But he was scared of You-Know-Who more than he was of betraying his friends. He was scared of dying and the Dark Lord would have killed him, without batting an eye. It had been hard enough to watch Bellatrix torture the girl, but he had gotten used to such stuff, being around Death Eaters helped.

Then he died.

Choked to death by his own sliver hand. As he felt his hand crushing his throat, he could see the boys trying to pull his hand off. They were trying to save him! A Death Eater, the one who sold out his friends' family, sentenced an innocent man to twelve years of hell, key to the Dark Lord's resurrection.

Damn that boy was so much like Lily.

And now, he was a kid again. He had woken up with his hand still around his throat and had screamed out loud, when he saw his right hand was made of actual pink flesh. He had to go to Hogwarts and sleep in the same dormitory with the people he once sent to their death! It was a fitting punishment that was for sure.

He considered shifting to Drumstrang or any other school but that would be too suspicious. Maybe, he could run away? But he couldn't survive alone and he didn't want to join the Dark Lord this time either. Taking every ounce of the Gryffindor courage he possessed, he would go. Maybe, he could start again and this time, NOT repeat the mistakes of his past life.

On the bright side, his mind was around thirty-seven so he could do very well in his studies. He could be as clever as James, Sirius, Remus and Lily! Wouldn't they be surprised?

'Oh right, they wouldn't even know.'

'It is good that they don't,' he tried to convince himself. But it just made him feel more like a rat which was his Animagus form. He hated it when the Dark Lord started calling him Wormtail. It was like twisting the knife which he had impaled himself with.

But a second chance at Hogwarts was as good as a fresh start! His failures were erased and he could begin again. He be damned if he let such a chance slip away. Maybe he will find enough courage to face You-Who-Know and do what Sirius had told him- die for his friends, like he would have done.

He shuddered.

Would he have enough courage to face the Dark Lord and die for his friends and family? He had already betrayed them and knew nothing good came out of that. No power, no rank, no fame (except where he received Order of Merlin, "Posthumously"). All he got was pain and suffering, years of it. He would rather avoid them this time around.

'I mean, what is the worst thing that can happen? I have already been tortured, lived as a rat, treated like a servant and killed… It won't be anything new,' he mused.

The journey to King's Cross was two days away, but every time Peter even looked at his trunk, his heart would beat in fear. His mind was not helping, giving him horrible images and scenarios. What if his friends knew of his crimes? What if they used him instead of Snape as their bait? If they went with Remus on their full moon trips in the near future, would the Wolf smell his fear and guilt?

He pushed away these thoughts and let it wander to some of the good times the Marauders had. When they had sneaked extra chocolate into Remus's stash near full moon, making fun of James when he made a fool of himself in front of Lily, playing pranks on unsuspecting victims and then running away from McGonagall, the adventures they had when it was full moon and the expression on Remus's face when he saw they had become Animagi for him. He was so lost in his thoughts; he jumped when his father put his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Peter, you excited to go?" his father asked.

"Ye-yeah dad."

"Your mother said you looked a bit spooked today and you didn't even have any second helpings at breakfast! Are you feeling alright?" Mr Pettigrew asked with a hint of worry. It was very rare when his son refused food.

"I- I am fine. Just nervous, I guess," Peter answered, "Dad… what if they hate me?"

"Ah Peter. They won't. Trust me. Just be kind, work hard and be good. You will make tons of friends. Just you see. I am pretty sure by Christmas, we'll get a ton of mail from you, pleading to allow your friends to come home and sample your mother's gorgeous cooking and to fatten everyone up, just like your old man," his father replied patting his belly and winking.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Second helpings for lunch to soothe mum's worries. What are we having for lunch? I am starving!" He gave a smile that was only half forced.

Peter giggled softly at the smile on his father's face as they both got up and walked to the kitchen. He had missed them. He was still worried and scared at the thoughts of facing his friends.

After lunch, he took a deep breath and approached his trunk. With shaking hands he started packing. The next day, he would ask his mother to make some of her homemade sweets, which he knew the boys loved. He would share it with them in their dorm.

'Maybe I should ask mum to make and send some of her mouth-watering homemade chocolate for Remus after the next full moon?' he mused. He couldn't help but grin at that memory.

 _*******FLASHBACK*******_

 _It was a few days after full moon and Remus had been successfully sprung from the hospital by James and him while Sirius distracted Madam Pomfrey (Even though she knew they were there to "jail-break" Remus, she was just playing along). It was a Sunday so they had no classes to worry about._

 _They had taken care of all the notes and Remus had completed all the homework assigned on Saturday, because he was the good student and it was boring in the hospital wing. After reaching their dorm, they settled down as per usual._

 _And then,_

" _WHO ATE ALL MY CHOCOLATES!" was followed by the angry face of the resident wolf holding an empty "goodness bag", as he called it. Three guilty faces glanced at each other._

" _Peter was hungry and was too lazy to go all the way to the kitchen!"_

" _My dog ate it!"_

" _James and I were proving each other wrong! He said Muggle chocolates would all taste the same!"_

" _Well, Peter said –,"_

" _Don't blame me. Blame it all on Padfoot!"_

" _James …."_

 _All three were defending themselves at the same time. Remus was trying not to smile._

" _Alright, enough!" he started, "James, there are many sweets that taste different in the Muggle world too but not as much as Honeydukes; Peter, eating chocolates instead of proper food isn't a good idea and Sirius, you do know that chocolates are bad for dogs right?"_

" _WHAT!" shouted Sirius as he scrambled out of bed. Ever the drama queen._

" _AM I GOING TO DIE, REMUS!?"_

" _Mate, I am pretty sure, you are not going to die," James stated in a dry voice._

 _Sirius then started twirling around and screaming "how everything was going round and round". He ended up facing the wall and was still shouting._

" _REMUS! JAMES! PETER! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?! I CAN'T SEE!"_

 _Cue James with an epic face palm and Remus burst into laughter. Like a signal, they all started laughing._

" _So, which one of you are buying me chocolates, then?"_

 _Immediately all hands pointed to the other. He should have expected this. Then Peter dug out a small jar._

" _My mum sent me this yesterday. She made them. I thought you would like them, Remus." He offered the jar with a smile._

 _Remus took the jar with a soft thanks and offered it to everyone. They all ate with gusto. When James reached for a second piece, he was firmly swatted on the head._

" _You guys aren't getting any more of this. I am taking this as Peter's offering. You both owe me chocolates. This is mine!" Remus announced hugging the small jar. It was so adorable that James looked like he was close to cooing over him. Of course, that jar had been emptied by the time Monday had arrived causing James and Sirius to buy two times the chocolates as peace offering._

 _******* END FLASHBACK*******_

With that, he completed packing his trunk. He missed his friends and he didn't want to be such a coward. Maybe he would find the bravery to stand up, even against the Dark Lord? Whatever happened this time, he would face it like a man. No more running.

'There was a reason the hat had put me in Gryffindor right?'

It was time to face the music.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fan fiction.

Author notes:

 **Merry Christmas! Wishing you all a magical and blissful holiday!**

Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed. You guys are awesome! This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

Special virtual cookies and presents to my awesome beta, HogwartsDreamer113!

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter Three: Sirius Black.**

Cold.

He knew he was dead. Maybe taunting his insane cousin wasn't a good idea after all. He had ducked out of the way of her first spell, but the second hit its mark. It had felt horrible, but then the veil pulled him into its cold embrace; ice cold hands pulled his hands and legs down, into the dark depths of death.

His mind was blank. No panic. No fear. He knew hell. He lived there for twelve years, after all, but was he worthy enough to go to heaven? Would he see James and Lily again?

'Possibly get a whole earful from Lily for taunting Bellatrix. Will they forgive me for making Peter their secret keeper?' Thoughts and regrets entered his head and then vanished again, as if they were lost in the wind as he fell; the hands continued pulling him down the deep, dark, and cold hole.

Then it stopped. He wasn't falling anymore. His fingers ran across something smooth and silky. He opened his eyes slowly. Eyes on the dark ceiling, fingers gently caressing the silky sheets, he lay on the bed, waiting for his head to clear.

Then, a door opened, and he saw a figure slip through.

"Hey Prongs. Are you here to chew me out for falling for Bellatrix's curse?" He called softly.

"Who's Prongs? And did cousin Bella curse you again?" a soft voice asked curiously.

Sirius's eyes widened as his mind recognised the voice. He hadn't heard that voice for years. Heart thumping, he jumped out of bed, startling the young boy. He just stood there with wide eyes filled with an array of emotions. The young boy looked concerned and confused at his reaction.

"Sirius? What's wrong? Why did cousin Bella curse you?" the young boy asked again.

All thoughts fled Sirius's mind. He could not believe what he was seeing. His baby brother was standing before him. Not the older version that he remembered, but young. He looked around nine years old. 'Why does he look so young?' his mind asked, somewhere in his subconscious. He ignored the thought for now.

"Reggie?"

"Sirius? You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you – Oof!"

One moment, Sirius was standing there staring at his brother's face, and the next, his hands were around Reggie's small form, hugging him like he would disappear if he let go. His eyes burned with unshed tears and there was a lump in his throat.

"I am so sorry, Reggie. I am so sorry. I am so glad to see you! And bloody hell, why are you so small?!"

"What in Salazar's name are you talking about Sirius? And watch it! You aren't so big yourself, you know." He pulled out of the embrace and stood, arms crossed and scowling. Sirius turned to the mirror in the room and yelped. He was a kid too! He saw his brother slightly smirking behind him and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Mother wants to talk to you after breakfast. She said it's about Hogwarts," Regulus announced.

"Mother? Our mother? She is here?" Sirius asked. 'Why was that woman in heaven? Was this NOT heaven? Was this hell? Did I get sent to hell for my mistakes?'

"Well, yes. She lives here? Remember?" Regulus replied with an eyebrow raised.

'Of course she lives in hell. She rules it.' Then, the second part of Regulus's sentence entered his dazed mind. 'Hogwarts?'

"Wait, what do you mean Hogwarts?"

"The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? The one you are starting two days from today? Seriously Sirius, what did you do last night? **What** did Bella curse you with?" Regulus asked, looking both exasperated and concerned.

"Hogwarts? Two days?" He felt so confused. He walked towards his open trunk by the wall with wide eyes and picked up a book. It read 'Standard Book of Spells, Grade One'. He dropped the book with a thud, and stumbled back, as if it burned him and fell on the bed. His brother watched him, looking quite alarmed now. Something was very, very wrong with this picture.

"I am fine, Reggie. I had the craziest dream last night. I just need to clear my head. Go on…" He said shakily.

"Fine, if you are sure…" Regulus trailed off. He stopped at the door, looked at Sirius and left. Sirius took a deep breath, got off the bed and started pacing.

'What the bloody hell is going on? I look like a kid. Reggie is here and he also looks like a kid. I am apparently going to Hogwarts in two days and this isn't heaven. Mother would not be there in my heaven, and I don't think a young Regulus would be in my hell. Older Regulus would be there, to punish me for not saving him. So what is going on?' He kicked the trunk in frustration and groaned as pain shot through his leg. He hopped over to the desk, cursing, but all thoughts of his throbbing foot left him when he saw the calendar on his desk.

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?"

He was back in time. He collapsed in the chair. He had died and woken up in his younger body. Laughter burst out of his mouth.

"Sirius, it is almost time for breakfast and Mother wants…" Whatever Regulus was about to say was lost as he stared at a hysterically laughing Sirius.

"Sirius? Are you sure you're alright?" he asked hesitantly.

Sirius stopped laughing and looked at his brother with an amused expression.

"Never been better, Reggie. I'll be down soon."

Soon, Sirius was dressed and sitting down at the table under the fierce gaze of his mother. Kreacher was serving breakfast to his younger brother. Regulus thanked the elf and began to happily eat. Sirius clenched his fists under the table, so he wouldn't attack the elf with his fork. He really hated that elf.

Walburga began in a harsh voice, "Listen to me well boy, for I will not repeat myself. You will not embarrass the family name. You are the heir of the Black line, and you will act like it. If I hear **anything** that suggests otherwise, you will regret it. Am I understood?"

Sirius smiled. He was bored of the same old threats. Since he was back in time, he would change things. Two could play this game. He smirked to himself while keeping a sweet smile on his face.

"Of course, Mother. I fully intend to uphold the family honour. Though, I cannot foretell where I might end up in Hogwarts, but I hope I will not disappoint you anymore." He smiled at the dumbfounded expression on his mother's face. It was not often he saw that expression on his mother's face. The last time he had seen it was when she encountered the wrath of Euphemia Potter. He finished his breakfast and excused himself from the table flashing a small grin at his brother. He headed upstairs to his room, ignoring the elf heads mounted on plaques to the wall. His trunk was packed and ready. His wand was strapped to his arm in a holster. Thinking hard, he began to pace.

'What should I do now? Play mother's game and pretend to agree with her ways and work behind the scenes? Or should I run away to the Potters' right after first year? No. I can't do that. I can't leave Reggie. That's what I did last time. This is my chance to save him, along with James and Lily. I could play the heir till my father passes away, then I would be Lord Black. I can change things around here. I can make sure Reggie does not fall for my mother's blood supremacy ideas and also stop him from taking Father's place as a Death Eater. I wonder what Mother will do if she learns Voldy is a mere half-blood… I also need to learn Occlumency to protect my mind from Father and his Death Eater "friends". Regulus will not join the Death Munchers. Not if I can help it.'

On the subject of him being back in time, Regulus did not remember his previous life, so was he the only one? Remus was alive when he died; hopefully he stayed that way. The younger Remus was here and so were James, Peter, Lily, and Snape. He sneered. Snape was a git. But he did fight for the light. It took courage and skill to spy on someone like the Dark Lord (not that he would EVER admit it out loud). He had also saved Harry's life more than once.

'Maybe I could try being a little nicer to him. Merlin forbid, us being close friends or anything! Maybe not goading him to find a Werewolf on a full moon, or hexing him just for fun. Yeah. That sounds good.'

He winced as he remembered Harry asking about the time he had seen them hex Snape after their OWLs. They were such prats.

'What to do about Peter? He was a coward, but right now, he's just a kid. We need to make him braver, and not follow us around like we are his heroes. Make him stand up and respect himself.' He flushed. Last time, he used to enjoy being admired by Peter, and he never thought much about him. He would change it all this time. Maybe then, Peter wouldn't betray them to Voldemort.

However, if matters came to the Fidelius Charm, he was not going to make Peter the secret keeper, even if he grew up to be trustworthy in this life. He regretted that decision enough for a lifetime. He also made a mental note to hide Frank and Alice, if the war got worse in the coming years. Maybe he could get Reggie, Moony, Peter, the Potters and the Longbottoms together and hide them in Hogwarts? He snorted. No matter what, he would protect them. Even if that meant he had to stun them and drag them to a safe house and drug them all with a strong sleeping potion. He couldn't bear to lose them all again.

It was late evening in Grimmauld Place and his cousins were visiting, courtesy of one Walburga Black. He kept a cool mask and did everything the heir of the ancient and noble family of Black should do, much to the surprise of his cousins and his parents. His hand itched to curse Bellatrix to oblivion, but he restrained himself. He behaved nothing like the old Sirius Black. The amusement was visible only in his eyes and was briefly shown to his cousin Andromeda before his mask covered it again. She smirked at him as he led her to the door after dinner. He just grinned and bid her goodnight.

In two days, he would meet the four people he considered his family. Imagine the pranks they could do this year without getting caught! They could create the map in the first year too! He would ensure Remus got through his transformation without getting badly hurt and watch James fall for Lily again. Maybe if they didn't bully Snape, she would like him a lot earlier than last time. With a happy sigh, he went to sleep. In two days, he would be back where he belonged.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfic.

Author notes:

Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed. I still can't believe you guys like it… *blush*. This is by far the longest chapter I have written, Hope you all like it!

This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

Special virtual cookies and presents to my awesome beta, HogwartsDreamer113!

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter 5: Lily Evans.**

The last thing Lily saw was the flash of green death hurling towards her.

"Harry!"

She bolted up, not paying any attention to where she was, as she remembered the night's events. She was dead. She pulled her knees up and began to sob. She had left her baby boy alone. She had failed to protect her son from the monster. He must be dead now, at the hands of the Dark Lord. The two halves of her heart, James and her son, were dead.

What was she supposed to do now? Where was she? Where was James? Was this the heaven? Would baby Harry be here? She calmed herself down and wiped her tears away. As she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, she noticed something. It was not the same dress she was wearing when the Dark Lord had attacked. She was in pyjamas that reminded her of the ones she used to wear when she was a kid. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell on her hands. Her jaw dropped. Her shocked eyes looked up and took in the bed and the room. It was the exact copy of her childhood bedroom.

She did what she thought was appropriate. She screamed.

"What!"

"What happened?"

"Lily!"

Three voices rang at the same time as the door was thrown open. Three people entered the room and looked at around for the source of danger. Lily felt like she was sucker punched. It was her parents and a young Petunia. Without even thinking, she launched from the bed and hugged her mother, and then her father. Her father held her tight when he felt her shaking. Her mother looked at her with worry.

"What is the matter, my little flower? Why are you crying?"

"Nothing, I just missed you both, that's all," she replied shakily.

Her father laughed and put her down. He cupped her face and looked deep into her emerald eyes.

"Don't worry, Lily. It's alright to be nervous. You might be far from us in that school but we will write to you every day, if you wish. That's why we got you an owl, right?"

"School? What school?"

Petunia just sneered and asked in a mocking tone, "What school? Your little school for freaks. It's unnatural, I am telling you. I heard that freak Snape and you talking yesterday, about brewing potions and learning curses. I hope you come back with green skin and warts on your nose. You can be the evil witch of the stories and I'll …"

"Petunia! That is enough," her mother admonished in a strict voice. But Lily's mind was reeling. What was her sister talking about? She was going to school? Hogwarts? What kind of afterlife had school? Petunia threw a dark look at Lily and left the room.

"Don't worry about her, dear. She is just disappointed that you are going to school to study magic, that's all. I am sure she will get over it," her mother told her in a soothing voice.

Lily just nodded blankly. Her mother left to prepare breakfast, and her father mumbled something about having a talk with Petunia, kissed her forehead and left. Lily needed answers about what was going on. She had died, and now her parents were here telling her she had to go back to Hogwarts? Was this all a crazy nightmare? Was she dreaming all this while she slept beside James in Godric's Hollow? She pinched her arm hard and it hurt. Not a dream then, her gut was telling her this was real. She walked up to the mirror and saw herself. She looked like a little girl. Lily took a deep, shaky breath.

'What was happening? How on Earth did I end up like this? I should be dead, right?' She swallowed a lump in her throat. Looking around the room again, she saw a calendar that was pinned on the wall, with X-marks on each day and a normal pencil hanging on a string beside it. She walked towards it, curiously. If this was real, and she was somehow young and alive, where was she? She held the calendar and saw the date.

'Two days to Hogwarts' her mind supplied automatically.

Her eyes widened.

"Back in time! In…time…"

Her knees felt like she was struck with a Jelly-Leg Jinx and she stumbled over to her wand, lying on top of a trunk and picked it up, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Swish and flick. The bed rose up shakily at first then, hovered steadily and gently down to settle on the floor. The small charm brought her a sense of calm and comfort. Now she had to figure out how this happened, and what she was doing here. She needed to think. She changed out of her night clothes and ran out to the nearby park, calling out to her parents that she would be back soon. As soon as she reached the small park, she began to pace.

'I was hit by the killing curse, yet I am alive. I am eleven years old again. How did this happen? Tuney said I met Severus Snape yesterday, so was that the Lily of the present time? Did I just wake up with the memories of my older self in body of my younger? James and I didn't do any ritual or any spell that might have caused this, so how am I alive, and am I the only one?'

"Oh James," she breathed out.

'Was he back too? Does he have his memories? What about the future that we just died in? Was this an alternate timeline, or are we back in the same future we just died in?'

Before her thoughts and questions could go any further, she heard a voice calling her name. It was the voice of her neighbour and once, best friend. She paused her pacing and looked up.

"Sev."

He ran to her, and pulled her into a tight hug. "Lily. I am so glad to see you again," he said thickly. She pulled out of the hug to look at him.

'According to Tuney, he had talked with her yesterday, so why the desperate hug? '

Her eyes scanned him from head to toe. Even if she was back in time, her head swimming with impossible questions, and the knowledge of older Snape and she were no longer friends, she looked for signs of injury on the young Snape in front of her, because she knew his home life.

She noticed the hug he had given, was different from his old hugs. This hug gave her the feeling that he had not seen her for a long time. He was still dressed in his nightclothes and his hair was rumpled, as if he ran here as soon as he was awake. Was she being paranoid? Her musings and suspicions were answered, as her scanning made him cover his left arm. It was that spot, where all the Death Eaters had their Dark Marks branded onto their skin. Her eyes narrowed at him, and he took a step back as he recognised the anger boiling inside her.

Her hand moved and slapped his face, hard. Her memories flashed with the images of her best friend. The friend she had supported, even when he had hexed so many people at Hogwarts, because she knew he was forced to. She had treated his injuries and cheered him up after the Marauders had bullied him. The friend she lost when he called her that foul word. The man who joined the Dark Lord and became a Death Eater, this was that very same Severus Snape in his eleven year old body. She pushed him away and grasped for her missing wand. Of all the times to leave her wand behind!

"Lil," he tried to calm her down.

"No! Don't you Lil me, Snape," she shot back. He drowned her fierce voice with his own, like he used to do in Hogwarts.

"Lily! I am not a Death Eater yet! And I won't be. Not this time."

She did not want to see reason, but her mind did. Technically, he wasn't a Death Eater, yet. Did that mean he had died in the future she left behind? When did he die? She had not heard of his death, so it must have been after her death. That means, he knew about her baby! What had happened to her gorgeous baby boy, after she failed to protect him? Tears blurred her eyes as she sunk to her knees, shoulders shaking with her sobs.

"You did protect him."

She looked up at him in shock. She could not believe what he was telling her.

'Her baby boy took the killing curse, and lived?'

She could not believe her ears. Her son was alive. James's and her death were not in vain. Their baby was alive!

"I am sorry for my part in it," Snape was telling her and her fiery temper lifted its head again and roared.

He, her once best friend, whom she looked out for even when the entire Hogwarts didn't like their friendship, was sorry for joining the most evil man in the their history? Then why, in the name of Merlin, did he even join him?! What did he expect to find within their ranks? Power? Respect? Acceptance? He had her respect and acceptance just the way he was, but no, that wasn't enough for him. Her fiery anger did not want to hear any his excuses of being a spy, or the reasons for doing what he did, but she honestly did not expect him to die for _her_ son.

Just as Snape was beginning to tell his tale of how he died and what happened to her son, her sister arrived to fetch her for breakfast. She agreed to meet him after. She did not forgive him, not yet. In time, she would.

After breakfast, which she shovelled into her mouth at top speed, much to the chagrin of Petunia and amusement of her parents, she ran back to the park. She saw him pacing in the same spot, in his usual day clothes. He was so lost in his thoughts; he did not see her until she was right in front of him. He smiled at her in apparent relief.

"Explain Snape. Explain what happened after I died and don't even think about lying…" she shot at him, but it was difficult for him to explain properly as she kept interrupting him with her rants and curses.

"Peter did WHAT!"

"And then, he …"

"… and he was never proven innocent?! What in the world was Dumbledore doing for twelve years? Stuffing his mouth with his accursed candy?"

"Lily…"

"Harry was on the team in his first year? Damn, if he was anything like James, I actually feel sorry for the snakes."

"I'll have you know we almost won…" Snape huffed.

"Noting the almost here, Severus."

"My baby killed the king of snakes?! What were you **professors** doing when two _second years_ were rescuing the missing girl?"

"Uh… "

When Severus finished telling about Harry's third year, Lily began in a quiet voice, which by the expression of Severus's face, he knew it spelled trouble. "Let me get this straight, Remus had a job which he loved, and it was rare for him to get such a good job, and _you_ let slip about his condition, causing him to resign?"

"It was an accident…"

Lily smirked with vengeance as Severus continued with his story, rubbing his stomach and wincing from her stinging hex. That was the third hex she had shot at him. One was for picking on Harry, another for insulting Harry and James. When he reached the Triwizard Tournament and the Voldemort's resurrection, Lily couldn't help it. She had set up muggle repelling charms around the park, so with no one watching except Severus, who had scooted a safe distance away from her. She conjured a huge rock, blasted it to dust, took a deep breath, and sat down next to a very wary Snape with a sweet smile.

"Continue Sev…"

He just sighed and continued with his story.

"The pink toad did WHAT! I'll TURN HER INTO A PINCUSHION!"

"Lily …"

She giggled at the glare he gave when he told Harry had gotten hold of his textbook and became very good at potions. She felt her heart break for Severus when he admitted to killing Dumbledore on his orders to keep the Dark Lord's trust. He told her how her son went on the run, and what Dumbledore told him about the Dark Lord's soul that had managed to latch onto her baby and remained dormant for years. Her baby had to sacrifice himself to kill the monster, who wanted him dead.

Snape was trying to console her, "We will not let it happen again Lils. We will change things this time around. I promise."

She nodded.

"Do you think they remember?" she asked him. He had told her Sirius and Peter were dead too. He did not know about Remus. Would they remember? Like them?

"Maybe, but best not to keep our hopes up. We have another chance of living again," he whispered to her and she nodded.

They had a second chance to make things right and to save her family. In the future where she had died, her son carried such a heavy burden with bravery, compassion and love. She had never been more proud of her son. She will not let such a heavy burden fall on his shoulders again. She would make sure he would get the life he deserved, full of love and happiness.

Harry would grow up with the people that loved and cared for him, and if anyone wanted to hurt him or her friends again, they would regret it. Sirius would not go to prison, and Remus would not be alone. Peter would change for the better, and Severus would not join the Death Eaters. Not if she had any say in it.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.

Author notes:

Happy new year everyone!

Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed. This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

Sorry for the delay, I got my joining date to my job after waiting for months and everything I had planned to write was shift+deleted from my head in my shock and excitement.

Special thanks to my awesome beta, HogwartsDreamer113!

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter 5: James Potter.**

James potter woke up with a yawn, and his hand automatically searched for his glasses on his bedside cabinet. He put his glasses on and turned to kiss his gorgeous wife, when he saw the bed was empty. He frowned. Where was his wife? Did Harry cry? His eyes widened as his mind suddenly flashed with the sounds of a door blasting open and cruel laughter. He remembered shouting at Lily to run with Harry before he was struck with the killing curse.

Did Lily escape? Did they both survive? What had happened after he went down? Where was he? His eyes burned as he thought of his only son and his wife. He wanted them back, to hold Harry, to hear him laugh, to hug Lily and kiss her again. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor as tears fell, clouding his glasses. He wiped them in the edge of his pyjamas, put them back on his nose and did a double take when he saw his hands.

'What the bloody…!'

Why were his hands so small? He stared at his feet and they were small too. He ran to the mirror, and he saw a young boy staring back at him. Maybe in the afterlife he had no age boundaries or could he change at will? He didn't want to walk around looking like a kid! He tried changing to his older self. Opening one eye, he checked if it worked. Instead, he looked like he was trying to lay an egg. Maybe it was similar to his Animagus abilities. He had to envision it and calm down. He breathed deeply and concentrated. Familiar pain shot through his body.

He opened his eyes in triumph and then, mentally groaned. He wasn't old. He wasn't even human! A young fawn was staring at him in the mirror. He hadn't seen himself as a young fawn before. When he was alive and had first changed as a teenager, he looked like an adolescent stag, with stubs growing for his horns, had very few spots and was quite tall. Now he was quite young, his back was filled with white spots, and he had long ears and small tail. His sensitive ears heard footsteps, but before he could change back, the door opened.

"James! Time for break-,"

The fawn and man stared at each other in shock. The fawn bleated and jumped, knocking over the owl perch. It crashed to the mirror, which toppled over, making the fawn jump out its path in fear and smack his head to the side of a desk. The man snapped out of his shock and moved to the fawn as the fawn stood there in daze and pain. He approached the fawn slowly and crouched down and gently touched the furry head. James stood still in shock and looked up to the man's face. It was his father! He looked young, too! James closed his eyes when his father started scratching behind his ears. So, that's why Sirius loved being petted.

"What the… James?"

James looked down and saw he was human again. He was still a boy though. He looked up to a gobsmacked Fleamont Potter and threw his arms around him.

"Dad! You're here!"

"And you were a deer?" his father asked in shock.

"It's a STAG! That's my Animagus form. I have been able to change since my fifth year, didn't you know see it from here?" James asked back with a raised eyebrow.

"Fifth year? Fifth year of what?"

"Hogwarts? Come on Dad, you've seen Sirius and me graduate from it… "

"Who is Sirius? And how can you graduate from Hogwarts when you haven't even started it yet? " asked his father in a bewildered voice.

A very troubling thought entered James's head. His father knew Sirius from the second day at Hogwarts, and he hadn't started it yet? What was his father talking about? He looked at his father in shock. He moved back to the broken mirror, and stared at his young reflection in total horror as his mind gave a suggestion, but that was insane. He picked up his wand and a book that had fallen from the desk and saw it was a quidditch magazine, 'The Quidditch Weekly' and his wand clattered to the ground again, when he saw the issue date. Strong hands gripped his shoulders and his father's face swam into view.

"Breathe James!"

He took a shaky breath and asked, "Dad? What is the date?"

'Please tell me I went insane. There is no bloody way this happened. No ruddy way in-'

He heard his father's reply, "29th of August 1971. James? James!"

James sank to the ground, breathing hard, making his father panic all the more. He wasn't in the afterlife! He was back in time! He barely heard his father shout or Euphemia's voice demanding to know what was going on. He just sat there blankly staring at the mirror, his mind in a loop, repeating that he was back in time. He snapped out of his shock only when he felt himself being lowered to the ground and his legs being elevated. He blinked, mentally shook himself and pushed up from the floor when he saw the panicked faces of his parents.

'Brilliant James. You find yourself alive and back in time after you died, and the first thing you do is give your parents a heart attack. Well done,' said a voice that sounded very much like Sirius, in his head. He put a weak smile and saw relief in both their faces. He hugged his mother tight and then his father. He had lost them in the future to Dragon Pox and it was right in the midst of the war where people were dying everywhere. He was glad that he hadn't lost them to Voldemort or his army's curses, but it was only Lily's pregnancy that had kept him from wallowing in grief. That and the crazy Dark Lord who was hell bent on killing them.

"James, you scared us to death!"

"Sorry Mum. I think I had the craziest dream…" he replied, abashed.

"Oh, you found your Animagus form in your dream?" his father asked.

"Yeah. I didn't think I would be able to fully change when I tried," he lied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Animagus form?" his mother asked in puzzlement.

Instead of replying, James just transformed back into a fawn. His mother gasped and he butted his head gently to her leg. She patted him on the head and caressed his long neck. His father was watching with pride on his face at his second "attempt" and successful transformation.

"You look adorable James! This is a perfect transformation!" she exclaimed while observing him from all sides.

"I think Minerva will be jealous and also proud when she hears about you. You might be the youngest Animagus ever and you didn't even have to do all the steps!" father said gleefully.

James transformed back. He couldn't let anyone know! What was he supposed to tell Professor Mcgonagall? That he could transform because he learnt to do it in his past life and then came back in time?

"No! Don't tell her! Don't tell anyone!" he exclaimed in panic.

"Why not? She can help you register. You are going to register, aren't you, James?" his mum asked in a stern voice.

"Oh, I will, but not right now. I will register and present this for extra credits in N.E.W.T Transfigurations," he replied with a wide grin. There. Perfect! His mother just looked at him with raised eyebrows. He sighed. "Alright! I won't use it for doing any mischief, and I won't get caught. If anyone suspects, I will go and register." His mother nodded.

"If I hear any rumours of a fawn prancing through the corridors of Hogwarts, you will find yourself grounded till you are an old man. Understood?" she replied with a hint of an amusement in her strict expression.

"Yes mam! And I don't _prance_ …" James saluted and pouted at his mother. His parents laughed as they all went downstairs for breakfast, and James secretly relished the sound. He had missed it for so long. After they finished breakfast, he repaired the broken mirror and put the owl perch back in its place. All the books were put back in the desk and his trunk was packed and ready. He had two days till he went back to Hogwarts.

Then, it truly hit him. This wasn't heaven or anything. He was actually back in time. He had died a few hours ago and yet, here he was in the past, alive. He had his parents again and he would meet Lily in two days. What was he supposed to tell her? He couldn't just go and kiss her, could he? She didn't even know him yet! Would his attempts to be friends succeed sooner, or would she hate him longer then last time? And his friends, they were here too!

He prayed Lily had escaped with their son, in the future he had left behind. He missed them. He would see Lily soon, but Harry would not be alive for many years. He hoped she escaped to Sirius's or Remus's. They would keep them safe from Peter and Voldemort. He couldn't believe Peter would betray them like that! James had trusted him with their lives, and he had sold them out to Voldemort. The younger version of Peter would be here, and James really wanted to hex him something painful, but thought against it. This Peter didn't betray him, the older version from his first life did. The Peter he would meet in two days was the one who would follow him around and look at him like he, James was his hero.

'Maybe, that's why Peter betrayed us. We always acted like he was the simpleton, disregarded him and treated him like he was the fool of the gang. Except Moony, he made sure we included Peter… '

He flushed. He would not do it this time. He would treat Peter as his equal. Perhaps then, he wouldn't betray them and not fall into Voldemort's trap. The only way out of Voldemort's clutches was death, and he didn't want Peter to suffer like that. Peter must have joined them out of fear, but the Dark Lord would force him to do horrible things in his name. His friend was a coward, but he cared as well. He had a gentle heart, and James didn't want it to be corrupted like last time. He would stop Peter this time and not allow his friend to fall into the darkness.

James had so many errors to correct. He remembered Lily's many harsh words and his arrogant and bullying ways. He had to rectify his mistakes. This was his chance to be a better person. He would save Sirius from his crazy parents, help Remus through his transformations and treat Peter better. He would prove to Lily that he can be good. When she had finally told him a little about Snape's home life, he felt nothing but shame. He would not bully him this time. If Snape cast the first hex, James was pretty sure he could stop it before things got out of hand. Perhaps, if he was civil with him from the beginning, they would not be hexing each other at every given opportunity.

He thought about his Animagus ability, how he could transform into his Animagus form just as easily as the day he died in the future. Did that mean his abilities were also back along with his memories?

'Wicked!'

He was as powerful as a fully grown wizard in the body of an eleven year old. That also meant he could go with Remus during his furry problem. He could teach the other two how to transform from their first year itself. He would make sure Remus wouldn't have to lie and be afraid that his friends would leave him. On top of that, he would also need to make sure Sirius would not goad Snape into meeting Moony. That had been a disaster. He hated to think what might have happened if he hadn't pulled Snape out in time. He would not let it happen this time.

They would change it all this time. This was a second chance to live and he wasn't going to waste it.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.

Author notes:

Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed. **One hundred followers**! *Jaw drop* O_O I never expected so many would like this story! You guys made my day!

This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

Extra special thanks to my awesome beta, HogwartsDreamer113!

This chapter will have lots of changes in POVs.

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter 7: The Hogwarts Express.**

The day dawned like any other day and like every day Lily woke up and then blearily saw the calendar and the packed trunk and squealed with joy. It was today! The first of September! She would see her friends and her boys. She got up, did her morning ritual and got dressed at top speed. She raced downstairs for breakfast and sat at the table, practically vibrating with excitement. Her parents were no better. After breakfast, they all got ready to leave, and her father came upstairs to get her trunk. Lily showed him the handy charms she had 'found' in her textbook, which could shrink her trunk and make it weightless, much to her parents' excitement and Petunia's shock. She stashed the small trunk in her handbag. Owl cage in hand, they left for King's Cross station.

Lily and her family walked up to Platform nine and ten and ran through the barrier, ignoring Petunia's hurtful comments. They soon met Severus and his mother. Lily and Severus said their goodbyes to their parents because they needed to hunt for seats before they got full, and climbed the train. Lily dragged Severus to the end of the train where the Marauders usually sat and found a thin boy sitting in the last carriage. Lily smiled when she recognised him, one of the kindest men she had ever befriended.

"Hi there, can we join you?" she asked.

Remus looked up startled, and his eyes widened when he saw the girl with red hair and green eyes. Behind her was a pale boy with black eyes. Lily and Snape. He couldn't believe he was seeing the girl who was like his sister in all but blood.

"Hello. Sure, no problem" he replied with a smile.

"I am Lily Pot-Evans and this is Severus Snape," she said pointing to Sev, who was glaring at her for her slip up. Remus's eyes narrowed briefly, and then his smile widened as his inner-self started dancing with joy.

"My dear sister, I'll make sure that you will be Mrs Potter once again," he told Lily with a straight face. Lily gasped and Severus's eyes widened as Remus gave them a mischievous smile. Lily jumped up from her seat and hugged Remus. He returned the hug just as tightly.

"So, you are dead too huh, Lupin?" Severus asked in a quiet voice.

Lupin stared at him and answered, "Yeah, I fell to Dolohov's curse. I take it you are dead, too?"

"The Dark Lord's snake ripped my throat out and left me to die. I did see Potter, though. I gave him my memories of why I did what I did. Yes, I killed Dumbledore, but he asked me to do so as he was already dying and young Mr Malfoy was tasked with killing him. If he failed, then I was ordered to complete the task. Albus did not want Draco to be a murderer, and I had to keep the Dark Lord's trust, so I did it," he explained.

Remus did not trust him, but he saw a flicker of emotion in those dark eyes. Guilt. Sadness. Pain. He did say he would treat Snape nicely, didn't he? He extended his hand to Snape. "I believe you. I also apologise for our behaviour in our previous years of Hogwarts. We were prats and bullies, and I'll make sure we don't repeat those mistakes this time. Let's try to get along this time, shall we?"

Severus looked genuinely shocked, but took the hand after a moment's hesitation. He thought the Marauders would fall to their old ways but this was a start. Lily was beaming; her eyes were bright with unshed tears. She got up and gave a light hug to Severus and then Remus. At that moment, the compartment door opened and slammed into the wall, while a messy haired boy with hazel eyes entered, staring at Lily and Remus who had pulled out of their hug.

"Lily?" James whispered. Lily gave a sob and flung herself into James's arms, sobbing to his chest. She felt him bury his head in her hair and his arms were trembling as he held her. She heard Severus give a slight sigh at her roller coaster emotions, but he didn't say anything. She pulled herself out of James's tight hug and looked at him. He gave a broad smile and kissed her forehead.

"I missed you Lily. I am so sorry. I should have been more careful. This is…" James was silenced by a soft hand over his mouth, cutting him off. Lily pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and gave a sad smile.

"Stop. None of this is your fault, James. What is done is done. Now we need to make sure it doesn't happen again."

James heart bloomed at those words. He had missed her so much. She stepped to the side and Remus came forward with a huge smile on his young face. James pulled him into a tight hug. James sat beside Lily, holding her hand and Remus sat down next to Snape, who looked just a bit uncomfortable. James gave a tentative smile, and when Lily gave a not very subtle pinch and a pointed look, he immediately apologised for his past behaviour and shook hands with Snape. It was awkward, but he meant it. He did not want to be a bully again.

As eleven o'clock neared and students were crowding into the train, James, Lily, Remus and Severus sat exchanging their stories about how they died, and for the benefit of James, telling him about Harry and wondering if Peter and Sirius also remembered their previous life. Severus cast a nifty charm at the compartment door, the Muffliato Charm he called it; a charm of his own creation which caused nearby people to hear only a buzzing sound, and to prevent them from overhearing their conversations.

James hung on every word of Lily and Snape, with inputs from Remus as they told him about his son. James jumped up from his seat with a whoop when he heard about Harry being a seeker in his first year.

"First year! He was a seeker from FIRST YEAR! Yes Harry way…" he trailed off mid-sentence when the door opened. Unfortunately, the person who entered knew who Harry was. The mousy brown haired boy paled considerably having heard the name James had whooped. He took a deep breath and entered the compartment while its occupants were still frozen.

He took another shaky breath and spoke, "I know my actions were more than disgusting. That is not how a friend should behave. I was a coward and I will try to be braver. Please give me another chance, but I will understand if you don't want me to be your friend anymore. I just want to say I am truly sorry for everything I did."

James was standing with his fists clenched. "You are not off the hook Peter, but I forgive you. There will not be a third chance," he warned. Peter was completely at a loss for words, so he simply nodded. James offered his hand which he accepted with his own trembling ones.

Remus stood up and added, "Remember Peter, betray us again and I will come after you as Moony. No pressure." He grinned and offered his hand, which Peter grasped. Lily came forward and enveloped him in a hug.

"You have already made a difference, Peter. You are forgiven," she whispered to him. The lump in Peter's throat was growing bigger. As Lily let him go, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to get punched in the jaw. He stumbled back and hit the floor, his hand holding his aching jaw and looked up to find a handsome blacked haired-grey eyed boy smirking at him.

" _Now_ we are even, Peter."

That was the last straw. The dam within him burst, and he burst into tears incoherently sobbing out "I am sorry…" over and over. A warm hand grasped his shoulder and he was pulled to his feet and into a quick hug by Sirius. Peter sunk into the seat next to Remus, as Sirius was tackled by James, followed by Lily. Sirius was laughing and crying at the same time as Lily did her best to squeeze the life out of him. After extracting himself from her, he walked over to Remus and embraced him.

After everyone had calmed down and Sirius gave an awkward apology to Severus, they sat relaxing. Peter was dozing off; Lily, Remus and Sirius were entertaining James with stories of Harry's school years while Severus was scribbling in his Potions textbook. Around mid-day, the food trolley appeared and James and Sirius treated everyone with sweets and pumpkin pastries. After they had eaten their fill, the topic shifted to their back-in-time situation.

"Sirius, do you want to come over from this summer itself, to get away from your parents?" James asked.

"Na mate, thanks, but I got it all worked out. My family thinks I have finally began to accept the responsibilities and the role of being the heir to the Noble and Ancient Family of Blacks. I have been on my best behaviour in the last three days. Even today, I parted with an 'I will make the Blacks proud' and Reggie was ecstatic to see me get along with my parents," Sirius replied, by making a face to show how he really felt about it.

"It's all fine and good now, but what about the sorting? You will be in Gryffindor. What will you do then?" Lily asked, worriedly.

"Don't worry Lils, I have thought about that too," Sirius replied with a smirk. After rummaging in his bag, he pulled out a letter. "Going to post this the moment, I enter the common room," he said.

"Let me see that!" James exclaimed and pulled the letter out of Sirius's hand and started reading. When he reached the end of the letter, he burst out laughing.

Lily just thrust her hand out with an impatient, "Give it."

James handed the letter with a meek, "Yes dear."

"Whipped!" Remus coughed out. Severus chuckled and everyone had to smile at that. They had never seen him laugh so genuinely before.

"The hat declared that Gryffindor is the path I must take, to bring my family honour and greatness?" Lily asked Sirius with a laugh.

"Yep," Sirius replied, popping the 'p', "She will eat it up. She has to. I thought about going to Slytherin, but I won't fit in. I belong with the lions. What about you Snape? Still going to the snakes? " he asked.

Severus gave a nod and replied, "Yes. I'll be with the Slytherins. I can handle them this time. Somebody has to keep them in line and I want to change things there. Maybe, I can change their minds and prevent a few from joining the Dark Lord."

Everyone soberly nodded at that and Sirius hesitatingly asked, "If so, would you look after my brother when he comes along? Don't let him go with the Malfoys?" Severus nodded and Sirius smiled his thanks.

Peter, to give a moment of laughter away from the dark topic asked, "are you sure you belong with the snakes Snape? I think red and gold will look very good on you!" Severus' look was pure horror as the rest burst into hearty laughter.

They all sat exchanging information about what they wanted to change and who they had to keep an eye out for. Severus and Lily told the rest about Voldemort's soul that had been in Harry and Sirius offered to help with their research, by looking through his home library which was filled with books on dark topics.

Remus, deep in thought said, "I think it would be helpful to write a journal about everything we remember, such as the dates or events when important things had happened. We can prevent problems, accidents and also spoil plans of Voldemort which had happened when we were still at Hogwarts."

Lily added, "I think we need to tell someone about our situation. It has to be someone who would believe us and not chuck us into 's, someone who can take the proper action to foil Voldemort's plans."

"How about Dumbledore? He is the head of the Order," Peter remarked. Severus grimaced. He felt horrible to go up to Dumbledore and explain what he did. The last time he had been to that office, the portrait of Dumbledore was giving him battle commands. Now, he had to face the real one. Lily reached across and squeezed his hand, acknowledging his turmoil and offering her support.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!" James exclaimed, "I accidently transformed into my Animagus form on the day I woke up. We still have our abilities. We don't need to do it all over again!"

"That's fantastic! Now we can join Moony from the next moon itself!" Sirius declared, thumping Remus on the back. Then, he regarded Severus and added, "And this time, you stay far away from us."

Severus raised his arms in surrender, "Trust me Black, I am no longer curious about where you all sneak away every full moon."

James added, "We might have to register this time. My parents found me when I changed into a fawn. I told them I would do it for extra credits in N.E.W.T.S Transfigurations and you three boneheads will join me."

Peter laughed out, "You got caught Prongs? Got old Marauder?"

"In your dreams, Wormtail. By the way, would you both like to join us in our full moon escapades and learn how to an Animagus? We can teach you!" James asked Lily and Severus, excitedly.

Severus hesitated and replied, "Thank you for the offer Potter, but I think sneaking out will just bring curiosity and harm to Lupin. Nevertheless, I think I would like to learn to be an Animagus." Lily also echoed the same. The other nodded and agreed.

"We can start working on the map soon, and I might ask Dumbledore whether I could transform in the Room of Requirement instead of the shack. I can just ask the room to make it inescapable and safe to transform." Severus nodded, looking impressed while other just looked confused. Remus explained about the room Harry and other used in Hogwarts which transformed to whatever they needed, called the Room of Requirement.

James added, "It sounds perfect. We'll also test it, to ensure it's completely safe, for us to transform and for the rest of the students. It would be terrific if we can spend every full moon there. I mean, it's not suspicious to find the nurse walking on the seventh floor in the morning and we all can reach there using my cloak to avoid people.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Remus's smile could have rivalled the sun. They all knew their future would be different. They would stop at nothing to make it better. If they had to personally fight Voldemort again, they would.

The rest of the journey passed in laughter, teasing, playing Exploding Snap and cheering Snape and Remus as they battled in a game of furious, even matched Wizard's chess. They were a team now, they would help the Order with information and events and save as many as they could. For now, they could not wait to see their home away from home, Hogwarts, and walk in her halls again.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.

Author notes:

Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed. You guys are totally awesome! This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

A huge thank you to my beta, HogwartsDreamer113!

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter 8: The sorting.**

It was late in the evening when the train slowed down to a stop at Hogsmeade station. Everyone was pushing their way on to the platform, and a voice called out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here, don't be shy!" As the Marauders, Lily and Severus approached the voice, Hagrid's huge form came into view. They all grinned heartily at the friendly half-giant, except Severus. He gave a brief nod. They all followed Hagrid down the path as he led them to the boats. As the rest of the first years gasped at the sight of the magnificent castle, James, Lily and Sirius smiled widely, while Severus and Remus gave shaky smiles. The last time the two had seen the castle, it was under attack.

"No more'n four in the boat!" Hagrid called out. The Marauders climbed into one, while Severus and Lily took another with two other boys. As the boats glided forward, Severus stared up at the castle. His heart was fluttering with nerves. The last time he had walked these halls, he was the headmaster. He had seen the students punished with the Unforgivables and was forced to do nothing but watch.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid, jolting Severus out of his bad memories. He shook his head as they climbed out of their boats and into an underground harbour. They walked up a flight of steps and reached a huge, oak door. Hagrid raised his fist and knocked hard on the door. The six smiled as the door opened to reveal their comrade against evil and currently Transfiguration Professor, Minerva McGonagall. She always had a soft spot for the Marauders, and they used to prank her on many days just to get her to smile, when the war was being too much. They entered the huge entrance hall as she led the first years into a small chamber off the Great Hall. The six students grinned and stood at ease while the rest of students stood nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," began Professor McGonagall. "The start of term banquet will begin after you have been sorted into your houses. There are four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. The houses will be like your family as you continue your magical education in this school. Your triumphs will earn you points while rule-breaking will cause loss of points. The house with the most points at the end of the year will win the house cup.

The sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes. Please wait quietly." With those words, she left the chamber.

James leaned close and remarked, "It's the exact speech as last time! Not a word changed…" the rest just smiled ruefully. Soon, Professor McGonagall returned, and they all got into a line as she led them to the Great Hall. Even though the six had seen this for seven years of their past lives, it was still impressive. Thousands of candles were floating in mid-air, the four tables with glimmering golden plates and goblets, the translucent shine of the ghosts among the students, and the inky black sky, pinpricked with stars. They stood in front of the house tables, facing the staff table as Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool and the sorting hat.

As the students and the staff watched the hat, it began to sing.

"In times of old when I was new

And Hogwarts barely started

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted:

United by a common goal,

They had the self-same yearning,

To make the world's best magic school

And pass along their learning.

'Together we will build and teach!'

The four good friends decided

And never did they dream that they

Might someday be divided,

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendships fail?

Why, I was there and so can tell

The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those

Whose ancestry is purest.'

Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose

Intelligence is surest.'

Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name,'

Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot,

And treat them just the same.'

These differences caused little strife

When first they came to light,

For each of the four founders had

A house in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning, just like him,

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,

And taught them all she knew,

Thus the houses and their founders

Retained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

For several happy years,

But then discord crept among us

Feeding on our faults and fears.

The houses that, like pillars four,

Had once held up our school,

Now turned upon each other and,

Divided, sought to rule.

And for a while it seemed the school

Must meet an early end,

What with duelling and with fighting

And the clash of friend on friend

And at last there came morning

When old Slytherin departed

And though the fighting then died out

He left us quite downhearted.

And never since the founders four

Were whittled down to three

Have the houses been united

As they once were meant to be.

And now the Sorting Hat is here

And you all know the score:

I sort you into houses

Because that is what I'm for,

But this year I'll go further,

Listen closely to my song:

Though condemned I am to split you

Still I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfil my duty

And must quarter every year

Still I wonder whether Sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you . . .

Let the Sorting now begin."

Applause filled the hall, along with whispers. The six in the know exchanged glances. The hat warned them about unity and put aside house feuds. Was it because they were back? Professor McGonagall began calling the names from the scroll. As a girl with blond hair hurried up to sit on the stool, Severus felt as if someone was staring at him. He looked up at the staff table to meet the eyes of Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he observed Severus over his half-moon spectacles. He finally looked away to clap for the girl who went to Hufflepuff. Severus started panicking from within. Why was Dumbledore staring at him? Did he somehow know what he did? Did he know about the six of them?

Lily felt Severus go stiff and gently squeezed his hand. She saw him exhale and gave him a questioning glance. He mouthed, "Later" and she nodded. She turned to the front when Sirius's name was called out. He swaggered to the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!" announced the hat. Lily smiled as she clapped for her friend. Last time, the hat had taken a while to announce. He gave the hat back and walked gracefully to the red and gold table. Lily squeezed Severus's hand when her name was called. The last thing she saw as she sat in the stool was her boys smiling at her from the crowd.

"Oh hello, miss Evans. Welcome back to the past."

"Thank you sir," she replied.

"So miss Evans, how do you feel about Ravenclaw, this time? Your knowledge will take you far in Ravenclaw. How about Hufflepuff? The caring nature of yours will help many in the house… Alright! Alright! What a true lioness, you are… " the hat chuckled in her head and announced to the entire hall.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Lily stood up, walked towards her old house, and sat beside Sirius. She sent a smirk to Severus, and he rolled his eyes in the crowd. Soon, Lupin, James and Peter joined the lions.

"Snape, Severus."

Severus walked towards the stool and then, saw nothing but the black cloth.

"Another one?! By Morgana, how many of you are back?" the hat grumbled.

"I am the last one, I think," Severus replied.

"And are you going to threaten to burn me too, like the little lioness, Mr Snape?"

Severus chuckled and replied in the negative.

"Very well. Just so you know, I think you would fit well in Gryffindor too, but I see you have plans, therefore, SLYTHERIN!" it announced the last word to the entire hall. He walked towards his house and sat down. He saw Remus giving him a thumbs-up, and Lily smiled at him, which he returned with a smirk. She had threatened to burn the hat? This information was too good to let go.

Soon, Dumbledore stood up and welcomed the students with his customary words of nonsense and dinner was served. The hall filled with chatter and sounds of cutlery. Severus took helpings of all his favourite foods. At the Gryffindor table, Lily was coaxing Remus to have another helping, while Peter was piling his plate with his third helpings of chicken and beef. Sirius was indulging himself on chicken drumsticks with a heaven-on-earth expression. When desserts appeared, James lunged at the chocolate éclairs, while Lily helped herself to her favourite treacle tarts.

After desserts disappeared, Dumbledore got to his feet and made his regular announcements about the Forbidden Forests and magic in corridors. James and Sirius smirked at each other. They had broken every rule which Dumbledore had just announced in their first year itself. When Dumbledore had sent them off to bed, they got up to follow their prefects to their dormitories. Sirius saw Narcissa glaring at him from the Slytherin table, and he smiled innocently back at her. He was sure there would be a letter flying home tonight from the dungeons.

When they reached the familiar red and gold common room, he went up to his trunk, got the letter, and gave it to his magnificent Eagle owl, Angus to deliver it to his parents. Hopefully, there wouldn't be a Howler in the morning. If there was, he would have to find another way to win over his parents. After the letter was sent, the Marauders and Lily sat in the common room talking to other first years and their seniors. They met Frank Longbottom, and the boys started chatting up with him, while Lily met Alice, Mary and her other dorm mates. They soon wished the girls goodnight and left to their dormitory, proceeding to have an impromptu wrestling match which involved James and Sirius jumping on Remus and Peter somehow getting trapped in the middle.

After Dumbledore dismissal, Severus, along with the rest of the Slytherin first years, followed their prefect, Lucius Malfoy, down to the dungeons. They entered the common room, and Malfoy explained the rules to them, which Severus tuned out. He had explained these rules to his students so many times. He wondered what changes he could do to this bunch. He looked up at Lucius and saw a man desperately searching news of his only son, a few moments before Severus had died.

Could he stop Lucius and Narcissa from joining the Dark Lord and change them to the light? They had lost everything at the end. Voldemort was using their wealth for his cause, and they were the lowest ranked among the inner circle. Maybe, he could stop them from jumping into that dark well, before it was too late?

Once all the announcements were finished, he sat down in one of the comfy armchairs, gazing into the fire. How to bring change in this house? How to stop them from joining the Dark Lord? Most of those who had joined with him had their parents already serving under the Dark Lord. How could he give these snakes courage to stand up to their parents and go against everything they were taught from childhood? To leave the blood purity nonsense and unite against Voldemort? It was going to be bloody difficult and he had to be very careful.

He was still thinking when he heard couple of fourth years complaining from the couch. A dark haired boy was saying, "I mean, how can a mudblood come into our house?! He defiled this house by stepping into the common room!"

Severus, having heard enough, drew his wand and smoothly cast a Scourgify. The boy spluttered as soap suds filled his mouth. Severus got up from his seat and stated, "Here I thought, this was a noble house for the cunning and ambitious, but you are proving this house is made of bullies and calling your own house mates such profanities. What a pity."

As Severus turned to leave, he heard a spell being cast and neatly stepped aside. He was a thirty eight year old man with years of battle experience, and this boy was trying to hex him when his back was turned. The older boy sneered, "You, you're that boy who was holding hands with that mudblood girl of Gryffindor. You dare go up against us?"

The only response Severus gave was a silent Scourgify to that offending boy's mouth followed by a body bind. He also silently vanished the soap suds. Eyes around the common room widened at the non-verbal casting. Severus mentally face palmed. What a way to start. He looked down on the fallen boy and spoke to the silent common room.

"I may be a first year, but this is the house of Salazar Slytherin. We remain loyal to our own, and we are meant to ambitious and cunning, not tyrants and bigots mouthing such foul words. If this house continues calling muggleborns such obscenities and hexing other unsuspecting students, we are no better than what the other houses expect us to be. I may be first year, but I can beat any of you final years in a duel. Take this as a warning; don't ever use that word again." With that, he strode off to the dormitories.

Severus wanted to bang his head to the wall. He spent one train ride with the Gryffindors, and they were already rubbing off on him. Why did he have to announce it to the whole room and basically challenge every upper year in Slytherin? Now, he was going to face lots of duels, most of them before the next dinner. He was going to have to watch his back and warn those five Gryffindors. He knew it was a matter of time before they would be targeted, especially Lily. He cast couple of simple wards around the bed and the room to alert him and locked his belongings with his strongest locking spells. He kept his wand under his pillow and got ready for bed. If this was going to play out the way he thought it would, there would be duels before breakfast. Thankfully, he was a light sleeper. He wouldn't put it past the future-Death-Eater materials of the house to ambush him while he was asleep.

He got ready for and bed and soon drifted off. His last conscious thoughts were that changes were already beginning in this house and by the end of the next day, he would either be in the hospital wing or respected in Slytherin. He would fight to make a stand, and he would continue until the Dark Lord was in hell.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.

Author notes:

Hello everyone! I am so sorry this chapter is out late. I was on a road trip to a beautiful, but remote village and I had no signal at all. So, all my efforts were on admiring the beauty of the valley as we stood on a peak to watch the sunrise and trekking (read: wheezing and puffing) to see waterfalls.

Oh! I almost forgot, I have also uploaded a small one-shot called, 'The Muggleborn's Patronus'. It is a crack-ish fic based on one of my favourite head canons. Do check it out.

This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

Three cheers for my awesome beta, HogwartsDreamer113!

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter 9: I have to do my homework again?**

Severus opened his eyes and then closed them. He heard the deep breathing from the rest of his dorm mates. The door to their dormitory opened, and he heard two sets of footsteps approach his bed. A spell was whispered, but he did not move since it was a silencing spell cast around his bed. So, they did not want to wake the rest of the dorm? Good. The last attack had woken up half the dorm at 2'o clock in the morning. The fifth year had been sloppy, and his dorm mates had a mixture of awe and mirth, as Severus won with a simple disarming charm. Severus had woken up to go to the bathroom, and on a whim, he arranged the pillow and sheets to seem like he was still sleeping in the bed. The fifth year had stormed in, waking up the dorm mates, and had continued to taunt Severus, without even checking if he was actually under the covers. Severus had calmly stepped out of the bathroom and disarmed him.

Severus held his wand tightly under his pillow as he waited for the two students to attack. The whoosh of a spell gave him a split second warning, and he rolled off the bed, his wand pointed at his attackers. He made a lamp beside them flare brightly, blinding them for a second while he scrambled to his feet. The attackers were two girls, and they were blinking hard, trying to get rid of the spots in their vision. Severus simply accioed their wands.

"You know, girls aren't allowed inside the boys' dormitory," Severus stated as he pointed his wand at them and they raised their hands in surrender. He gestured them to move and escorted them to the common room. He wasn't at all surprised to see two sixth year boys waiting to see them. He raised an eyebrow when the boys pointed their wands at him. He simply tossed the wands he held to a nearby couch and turned to walk back.

"How do you know so many spells?" one of the boys asked.

Severus replied without turning, "I have read all my mother's textbooks countless times, ever since I knew I was a wizard."

"Ah yes, I heard your mother married a Muggle. Did your Muggle father hate magic?" one of the boys asked. Severus turned to him to see only curiosity and concern hidden in the blank mask.

"Why do you ask?" Severus asked suspiciously. The boy shrugged.

"My girlfriend' father is a Muggle and he hates her. Is it the same with you?"

"Sometimes, but I read and practice where he cannot find me," Severus replied. The others nodded.

"We are sorry for attacking you so early." One of the girls apologised. Severus waved it off.

"I should have thought about it before challenging the entire house," he replied.

"Why did you do it, though?" the other girl asked.

"To prove a point. I read this house is the house of the cunning and ambitious, and yet all I have heard about this house is how everyone is evil and will be the future followers of the You-Know-Who. I want to change it," Severus replied. He knew it was a risk, but he went with his gut. They exchanged a quick glance that would have been missed if Severus wasn't looking for it. He cast a privacy ward and stepped closer.

"So, you four don't agree with the house's current situation either?" he asked them. The girl closest to him nodded.

"I am Isabel West. This is Alice Chase and the boys are Riley Watson and Robert Fawley," she introduced the group to Severus, who nodded to each of them. "We have observed it for the past five years. I was scared that I was the only one with such thoughts. We four managed to find each other without alerting the others, and we have kept our feelings well hidden. If anyone, especially the ones who send home reports finds out, we would be finished. We had to attack you as we were expected to do so," she explained.

Severus's face had a hint of a smile. "Perfect Slytherins, if I do say so myself. I will keep your secret and will also take your help on suggestions on how to change our house, but for now, I think it is best to lay low and let everyone finish their duels with me. Are your parents in the ministry?"

Robert replied, "Yes, and Father is quite uptight on blood purity too. Not as bad as the Blacks, but he expects me to marry a pureblood, and here I am with a Muggleborn, Hufflepuff girlfriend."

Severus remembered the boy now. Robert Fawley, one of the scared twenty eight. He had married a Muggleborn and had become a well-known healer at St. Mungo's. He hoped he would be one this time too. Severus nodded and Alice asked in whisper, "Did _they_ duel you yet?"

Severus shook his head and replied, "Not yet. It won't be long now. They are waiting to see how I do with the others, I think."

"Tread carefully, Snape. We will be here, if you need us."

Severus thanked them, and they broke up when they heard the sounds of people waking up. Severus got ready for the day and left for breakfast.

At the Gryffindor table, the Marauders and Lily were sitting down for breakfast when they saw Severus enter along with the rest of the first years. Lily locked eyes with Snape for a moment before he looked away to talk to a fellow first year.

"Guys, look… notice something strange there? All the upper years are glaring at Snape," asked Remus. They all turned and stared at the Slytherin table. Remus was right; most of the seniors were glaring at Snape. Some subtly, and a few out right.

"What do you reckon he did in the Dungeons?" asked Peter.

"We can ask him during potions. It's with the Slytherins…" James replied. Alice dropped into the seat next to Lily and they changed the topic. The boys were asking about Alice's cousins, the Prewett brothers and their pranks when the mail came in. Sirius noticeably stiffened as they saw Angus flying towards him. Everyone, including the teachers and the students stared as Angus held out the red envelope to his owner. Sirius looked resigned to see the howler. He took a deep breath and opened the envelope.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! Gryffindor? Generations of Blacks! Generations of traditions! Thrown out of the window! One more time, if you try to spoil the family name _one more time_ , you will regret it!" with that, the Howler burst into flames. Sirius looked the rest of the Marauders and Lily.

"Well, at least she didn't curse you," Peter said as he poured sugar on his porridge. They all remembered Walburga's voice screaming insults and cruses at Sirius many times during their previous lives in Hogwarts.

Sirius gave a small smirked and commented, "This is an improvement. Maybe, all hope is not lost." The rest smiled, and looked relieved for Sirius. They were quite afraid Sirius would suffer like last time. Sirius looked towards the Slytherin table and caught Andromeda glaring at Narcissa, while the latter looked confused at the howler's lack of shouting. He smirked at James and grabbed some toast.

"James! Stop piling toast on my plate!" Lily exclaimed.

James, who was about to place another toast on Lily's plate stopped and gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry Lils, old habits…"James replied softly. He had picked up that habit when Lily had been pregnant and hadn't stopped. Lily shook her head fondly while the other three snickered. After breakfast, they headed to their first class, which was Transfiguration, while Snape left for History of Magic with the rest of the Slytherin first years.

As they waited for Professor McGonagall, James and Sirius began arguing about what pranks they should start with, while Remus was sighing in periodic intervals, and Peter was giving his inputs to their suggestions. Lily was watching them with amusement and exasperation. Alice gave her a look, but didn't say anything.

Soon, Professor McGonagall began the lesson. They were supposed to turn the matchstick to a needle. The five pretended to fail for a couple of times, and then performed the correct transfiguration. They didn't want the class to see that the five friends could do it in the first try. Soon, the Marauders were experimenting with their needles, their needles would explode when touched with a thread (James), camouflage itself with the background and shriek when found (Peter), and stand upright to stick it to a chair (surprisingly Remus, earning himself chortles from the rest). Near the end of the lesson, Sirius managed to make his needle scream shrilly "wheeee" as it hurtled itself towards its target, which was a nearby pincushion. For now.

Minerva was amused and very proud of their creativeness as she awarded them points. She did warn them if she found any needles stuck upright in chairs or exploding she would put them in detention. As they left, Alice looped her arm around Lily's and James took her other arm. Not to be left out, Sirius grabbed Peter's and Remus' arm and the six followed the rest of their classmates to Charms class. After charms, they took the steps to the dungeons for their Potion's class and to meet up with Severus. As they neared the classroom, they saw Snape standing near the classroom door, talking to his fellow snakes.

"Severus!" Lily called and Severus and the small group turned towards them. He smiled at Lily and nodded at the boys. Before they could speak, Professor Slughorn opened the door and called them in. The six took a single table near the front. They set up three cauldrons and paired as they had done in their future-past, Lily and Severus, Sirius and Remus, James and Peter. Professor Slughorn set them to prepare a Hiccoughing potion, they gathered the ingredients and got to work.

As they were preparing their ingredients, Remus asked Severus about the rest of Slytherin's behaviour towards him. "Ah, yes. I may have challenged every upper-year to a duel last night…" Severus replied, his pale cheeks tinted with red.

"You what!" James exclaimed as the rest looked over with wide eyes. Lily motioned to lower his voice, and they kept quiet as Professor Slughorn passed their table.

"Why Severus? This will make you a target. The Dark Lord will hear of this. What are you going to do then?" she asked.

Peter added, "Are you sure you should be in Slytherin? That was a very Gryffindor-ish move…"

"One train ride with you lot and I act like a bloody Gryffindor," Severus grumbled as the rest grinned. He continued, "They were mouthing-off a Muggleborn in Slytherin and I saw a perfect opportunity. The chosen-to-be Death Eaters haven't dueled me yet, but I am guessing they are waiting for reports from others to see how I do. I already finished three duels; the last one was before I arrived here. Which reminds me, you lot need to be more careful, especially you, Lily."

They nodded and Lily smirked. "We will. We faced Mouldyshorts himself, three times. We can handle these kids, but yes, we will be careful. They might target Alice or others," Lily said.

"I think we can start on the map tonight," Remus added. The Gryffindor's nodded. Lily stared at Severus questioningly, who smiled and replied he was fine. They soon completed the potion, and their table was one of the few one got it perfect.

The rest of the day passed quickly. The Gryffindors saw several Slytherin fourth years huddled together and talking in low voices as they headed to lunch, and saw them enter the Great Hall ten minutes later looking disgruntled, soon followed by a very smug Severus. After lunch, they attended History of Magic, where Sirius, Peter and James took an afternoon siesta, and Remus and Lily sat and experimented with a book.

They wanted to find a way to communicate with Severus when they were in different classes, so they duplicated the book into six copies, and whatever was written would be duplicated into each book. Their names were on the first page of each book, and Lily charmed it so that their names would appear on top of each message to show who wrote it. In the end, they managed to put a privacy spell such that only the owner could open the book and see the actual messages or write in the book. Anyone else would see pages filled with the content on Goblin wars, from the History of Magic textbook. That stuff was boring enough to make anyone uninterested. They would give Severus his copy after they tested it.

After their last class, James and Lily decided to go out for a stroll while Remus, Sirius and Peter went to the library for the materials they needed for their map. They got the books and were sitting down in a corner of the common room. They had gone already finished a couple of books when James and Lily returned. They both had a wide grin on their faces.

"Why do you both look like the cat that ate the canary?" Remus asked, looking up from his book to see them sit on the couch. James' grin widened, and Lily blushed.

"I know we had a kid and all, but this feels so weird, like we are kids again," James said with his grin still in place.

"I hate to break it to you James, but you _are_ a kid again," Sirius said dryly.

"We are not going to find you both disappearing inside broom closets, are we?" Peter asked.

"NO!" came two simultaneous shouts from the blushing couple.

Sirius and Peter snickered, and Remus sighed. Lily swatted them on the head with the nearest thing she could find, which happened to be a rather heavy looking book. Remus soon pulled James into the reading session for making of the map, and Lily started on her essays.

"Lily, what do you think you are doing?"

"Transfiguration essay," she replied, without glancing up from her writing.

"Homework? We have to do the homework again?!" Sirius exclaimed, and she looked up to find James, Sirius and Peter wearing a horrified expression. Remus grinned at her while shaking his head fondly.

"Maybe, we can ask Minnie not to give us homework as we had done it once, before?" James asked.

"Oh yeah, I can see how that conversation goes. Hello Professor McGonagall, as we have travelled back in time after we died, we have already your homework once. Can you excuse us from doing it all over again?" Remus imitated Sirius' posh voice. He yelped when Sirius jumped on him, followed by the other two. Lily calmly pulled her pot of ink away from the edge of the table and continued her essay. She looked up with a smile when Remus emerged as the victor, sitting on the stomach of James and Sirius and Peter was trapped under Sirius' legs.

After they untangled themselves, Lily calmly pushed some spare parchment towards the rest and said, "Look on the bright side, we will all get an E or an O in every lesson." She and Remus shared a grin when they grumbled, but grudgingly started working on their homework.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.

Author notes:

Hello peeps! I am SO sorry for my lateness… I just joined my job and had to relocate to a new city, so I got lost in the packing, travelling and the beginning of job stuff. I will try to write and update as soon as I can in the future. Gotta learn how to manage work and fic-writing!

Also I had some trouble uploading this chapter… Sorry!

This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

As always, my beta HogwartsDreamer113 has worked wonders on this chapter.

 _ **AN IMPORTANT SHOUTOUT!**_

This is a shout-out to one of the most mind-blowing author I have ever had the opportunity to talk to… The author **Trinkisme** has been my first internet buddy and her fics are absolutely awesome. _Each and every one of them._

She is going through a tough time right now and, I am sure I speak for every one of you, when I convey our prayers and love. She has sailed through tough times with a smile worthy of Remus Lupin, and I admire her a lot. This is to you, my dear Trink and to your loving and supporting hubby! May Apollo and Hestia smile down upon him and your family! We all hope and pray he gets well soon. We all love you Trink!

 **The Second try.**

 **Chapter 10: Something to think about.**

The Gryffindors and Slytherins went their separate ways after Potions class. Severus briefly grasped Lily's hand in reassurance as they exited the classroom and left for their classes. As the first year Slytherins were nearing the hall, a group of fourth years blocked their path.

"So, you think you can beat us all?" the one in the front called out.

Severus turned slightly to his dorm mates and said, "I believe it is better if you guys go ahead. I will catch up with you soon." When the others left he remarked, "Also, I'd rather not lose all the points Slytherins has managed to gain by fighting in the corridors."

Severus turned around and marched straight to the nearest classroom which was thankfully empty. Strange, they didn't try to hex him while his back was turned. He turned to see the four grinning maliciously.

A conjunctivitis curse came his way and he stepped out of the way. Three more curses followed and he blocked them with ease. He saw two of them move away slowly from the group while the other two kept throwing spells at him. They wanted to catch him from the sides and he knew things would escalate from here. He couldn't let that happen. He wanted to avoid the attention of the professors.

He suddenly dropped his shield and fell to his knees and let the remaining curses sail over his head. In an instant he fired four curses which hit their targets successfully. The fourth years wasted no time and started firing more curses. Instead of being hit from a bone breaking hex, two cutting hex and a stunner, four ducks sprouted out of the respective wands and landed on the floor, quacking.

Severus chuckled at the scene and the boys snarled out a few more curses which resulted in more ducks. He disarmed them with a smirk. His wand was trained at their faces as their fear showed through their masks.

"Not to worry boys. I don't hurt unarmed boys. Unlike some…" he trailed off glaring at the upper-years, who glared right back. Severus tossed their wands back. He stood leaning against a desk as the boys left the room sneering at him and then headed off to the great hall, thinking about the ducks bursting out of the wands.

It was late in the evening, when Severus sat in the common room on a comfy armchair beside the fireplace and with him were West, Chase, Fawley and Watson. They were speaking quietly about their situation and how they could meet without raising attention. That was when he saw one of his fellow year-mates, Jordan Owen, stumble over the entrance, his eyes widening when he saw Severus. He ran over to him.

"Severus, they have Matthew! We were returning from the library, and they dragged us off… They said he was the reason this entire mess started and that you humiliated them. They were going to hurt him real bad! They sent me to fetch you, please! I… "

What had started in a hushed voice had grown louder and louder till the entire room was staring at the group. Severus saw a bit of dried blood under his nose. Having faith that the four would calm Jordan and help him, Severus got up without a word and swiftly left the room. He headed towards the library and was not surprised to see Lucius waiting for him in front of one the unused rooms near the library.

Lucius watched with his wand held ready as Severus approached him. The first year was unarmed, but he had seen how powerful this kid was. He knew the Dark Lord would be pleased if he joined them. The problem was Snape's view of things. He was friends with the Mudblood and this whole thing started with that blasted boy's hatred of that very word! Lucius was just a fifth year, but he knew he would have to join the Death Eaters. He was expected to. His father was the closest thing the Dark Lord had to a friend and the Dark Lord would expect him to fall to his knees and take the mark. He had no choice in the matter.

Severus came to a halt in front of Lucius. He saw the hand grip the elm wand tighter and he raised his hands.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" he asked the fifth year.

Lucius opened the door, and Severus walked in. The door behind clicked closed, locked by the blond behind him. Severus observed the sight in front of him. The Muggleborn, Matthew Cameron, was crying on the floor, and standing around him, with various levels of disgust on their faces were Rabastan Lestrange and Amycus Carrow. Severus had found out after his first duel in the common room that Matthew was the Muggleborn the fourth year was insulting in the common room. They were all fifth years, and were expected to take the mark when they graduated. Matthew was clutching his arm. It was clearly broken. He also had a few bruises here and there, and his nose was broken.

"Well, well, look who it is. The snake who wants to change the house…" Rabastan mocked.

"Let him go. You wanted me, and I am here, but he goes to the hospital wing," Severus demanded.

"Oh no. He stays. He will see a Mudblood lover get beaten, and learn the true value of filth like you in this world," Lestrange taunted.

Severus raised one eyebrow and replied, "If you people want to let him watch me, a first year, beat you in a duel then it's fine by me…"

Lucius walked toward the front and quietly said, "Let him go. His friends are bound to come searching and it's better to avoid the attention of others. Let him go."

"Fine! Get out of our sight, Mudblood," Amycus snarled, and the other two sneered as Matthew picked himself up and stumbled toward the door.

As soon as Severus saw Matthew leave, he shifted his attention back to the fifth years. "You know, I was expecting you to ambush me for quite some time now. Never thought you would go as far as taking a fellow housemate as hostage. So pathetic…" Severus remarked.

"You talk big kid. You are nothing but a pathetic half-blood with Mudbloods and blood traitors for friends. You will never win against us," Rabastan sneered.

Severus gave a short laugh and commented, "Have you not received the reports from the others? I have won every duel you all have thrown at me, and frankly, they were pitiful. I doubt you all would be better. I guess inbreeding took its toll…"

Severus smirked in satisfaction when three spells whooshed his way, and he calmly ducked out of their path.

"A Stupefy, Carrow? Please, the Muggleborn you were using as a dummy could cast better spells. Pathetic, Carrow," Severus said as he stood with his wand at the ready. He put up a shield as a bone breaking hex hurtled toward him. The others threw spell after spell, trying to break his shield, but it held strong. He stood firm as he held against the barrage of the spells thrown by the older students. He continued to taunt them, and soon the simple spells turned to vicious and dangerous ones, bordering on dark. Severus always had a vicious tongue and he needed no spell to make the three angry.

Severus's shield cracked when it encountered a powerful Reducto from Rabastan's wand. The three smirked and attacked with glee. Severus braced himself and held his shield. When the crack grew, he held it for a few seconds and then suddenly dropped the shield and flicked his wand, making a dense fog fill the room in an instant. Lucius swished his wand, and the fog disappeared. The three boys stood against the first year, and Severus' eyes darted to each teenager observing each small movement they made.

They continued to have a silent standoff, waiting for the other person to make a move. Severus suddenly exploded into movement, slashing out hexes and jinxes. The fifth years blocked many of them, countering with their own. Severus returned fire. He did not include his own creations; he did not want to give way his advantage. His sleeve tore, and his arm started to bleed from a cutting hex. He returned with the same, and Rabastan hissed with pain.

"Expluso!"

A crater stood where Severus had been standing, and as soon as the dust cleared, Severus fired with renewed vigour. He had to wrap this up and soon. He fired hex after hex, curse after curse. He countered, blocked and took a few hits. Each hit he took was calculated and was used as a distraction or a sacrifice to send out his spell. His arms were throbbing with pain and his right knee was reversed. He ignored the pain and focused. These pains were mere pin pricks when compared to the Cruciatus the Dark Lord handed out.

He blocked a Blood Freezing Hex from Carrow, and his eyes narrowed in anger. That hex was lethal if the antidote was not administered immediately. They were casting without knowing the consequences of the curse! This duel would end now. A cutting hex hit Lucius on the arm, followed by a silent Knockback Jinx. He hit the wall with a crack. Severus shot a Jinx that made a victim lose all five senses towards the younger Lestrange. Blinded, deaf and unable to find his sense of touch, the Lestrange toppled over and fell. He could not hear, see or feel anything. Carrow roared with fury and attacked with a hex and Severus heard the bones in his wand arm shatter.

Without missing a beat, he took the wand in the other arm and hurtled the furniture toward the fifth year. He blasted the first two chairs, but had to fall to the ground to avoid the desks that shot towards him from all directions. This gave the opening Severus needed. He petrified him and summoned his wand.

He stood breathing heavily, his wand in the wrong hand and body throbbing with pain. He turned his knee back in the right direction and walked towards the three boys. He woke Malfoy and bandaged his head with a spell. Severus cast the counter spell on the Lestrange trapped without his senses, while Lucius released the other. When Severus saw the focus returning to the eyes of Rabastan, he turned and walked towards the door.

"What was that spell?" a voice rasped out and Severus turned to see Rabastan sitting on the floor flexing his fingers.

"Perdit Sensus, the spell of lost senses. Makes the victim lose all the five sense until the counter is cast," Severus replied. "I hope this proves to all you dunderheads that I can defeat each and every one of you. No more targeting fellow house members over their blood. Unless you all want a rumour to spread that you were defeated by a mere half-blood, who is a friend of Mudbloods and blood traitors. I don't think your family and your boss would take that news kindly, do you?"

Severus watched the reactions on their faces before he continued "I know who your families support, and what you boys will be doing after you leave the Hogwarts. I don't think he will mark you if you were defeated by a mere first year."

"You can join us Snape. You are powerful and will be very valuable to him. You can be rich and powerful. You could rise to be the right hand of the Dark Lord!" Lucius offered.

Typical Lucius. Trying to make every situation benefit him. Severus smirked. "I am not interested in riches or power. I know for fact if I join, I will get neither. I refuse to be a slave to the ideas of a mad man. He will use my abilities, earnings and position to his benefit and for his cause, no one else's. I do not think any Dark Lord for that matter, cared for his followers. He will torture, exploit and murder as he wishes. He will not care if he is killing his victims or his followers."

Severus walked to the door and turned around to face them again. "Let me tell you a little fact. The Dark Lord who wishes to make the Purebloods great again by killing all the Muggles has been lying to you from the beginning. Did you know the he is actually a half-blood called Tom Riddle? He is not even a pureblood. He is just a disgruntled half-blood using all of you to do his dirty work. Do you think he will break you out of Azkaban if you get caught? Do you think he will care for your families? He will hold them hostage, take over your wealth and plunder it for his ideas. He would not bat an eye if you and your family are tossed onto the cold street or sent to prison."

"LIES!" bellowed the younger Lestrange brother.

Severus shrugged. "Go and do your research then. Maybe, your brother or sister-in-law can ask the Dark Lord… It is just something for you to think about." With that he turned on his heel and left, closing the door behind him.

Before Rabastan could even get up from the floor, the door creaked open, and Severus popped his head in.

"Oh and if you and your friends dare attack any of our fellow housemates or my friends ever again, just remember, I can defeat you all over again, in many more painful ways… Good night!"


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.

Author notes:

This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

To all the authors who work and also find time to write in midst busy schedules, I bow down to you. It took me so long to find time to write, and here it is- I hope you enjoy it!

Three cheers to my beta HogwartsDreamer113!

 **Chapter 11: The one where Minnie forgot to give detentions…**

It was two weeks since the duel. The next day after their classes ended, Severus had met the lions in the Room of Requirement. The lions had wide smirks on their faces, and they hung on every word as Severus described the duel. Remus and Lily all but begged Severus to teach him the Curse of Lost Senses. They also decided to start on the promise of teaching Snape and Lily to be Animagus. The three Animagi gleefully gave Severus and Lily homework to read about the transformations and told them they could start with the first step during the Christmas holidays.

They were currently in Room of Requirement planning the various tests and experiments on the room for the approaching full moon. When their stomachs started to make themselves known, they tried asking for food, but couldn't get any. They noted it and left for dinner. It was late, so they took a trip to the kitchen. They ate and bantered with each other. When Lily, Remus and Severus started arguing about some book, all the other three could do was watch. They knew if they tried to interrupt, three pairs of evil eyes would fall on them. Each of their glares individually were bad; combined they could put a Basilisk to sleep. They were quite happy to sit and eat their dinner while watching the other three argue.

Soon dinner was done, and Peter had fallen asleep in his chair. The three still hadn't agreed on their favourite book. James and Sirius were fighting silently on who would be the one to interrupt their debate. The two Marauders had faced the likes of Voldy himself; they shouldn't be afraid to interrupt the combination of Snape, Lily and Remus, right?

"Umm, guys?" James tried in a small voice.

The only response he got was Remus's "NO! He missed so many things…"

Sirius took a deep breath and drew his wand. James' breath hitched, and Sirius prayed to Merlin that he would live to see tomorrow. He ignored James' tug on his other sleeve, aimed his wand at the three and cast Aguamenti. The resulting shriek from the red head, growl from the werewolf, and narrowed eyes from the snake gave him genuine fear for his life. James had woken Peter up, and the pair was almost at the door.

For a moment nobody moved, then the shock broke, and Sirius launched himself towards the door, and the three ran as if demons were on their tail. When they heard a whoosh of a spell, James turned into Prongs, followed by Wormtail and Padfoot. Wormtail scrambled onto Sirius, and held on tight as they ran out of the basements. The three reached the entrance hall and saw the door open. They barrelled towards it, barely noticing Filch, who was standing outside.

James and Sirius crashed into him, and the squib and two Animagi fell in a tangle of limbs and fur. Filch groaned as James' legs kicked him in the stomach as he tried to free himself, and Peter squeaked in fright as Mrs Norris came into view. Sirus barked at her, and she ran off, while Filch paled at his Grim like features. The three heard footsteps and turned to see three shadows near the door. The three ran onto the grounds, towards the forest.

They heard footsteps after them, but they couldn't see anyone. Sirius yelped when he felt a stinging jinx hit his tail. They took off to the forest, and ran in until it felt safe to turn back into humans. The three took shelter behind a tree and turned back. All three were in various states of disarray and panting. Peter kept watch while James and Sirius caught their breath.

Peter peered into the forest, the moonlight helping him see, but he saw nothing. He returned from his watch and whispered," I don't see them, but- " Peter yelped as he suddenly found himself in the air, his back stuck to the tree and his feet were at least two, three feet away from the ground. On the ground, James was petrified, and Sirius was tied down from head to toe with vines and branches and was struggling to free himself. Three forms emerged from the bushes from all three sides.

"Dammit!" Peter swore. No wonder he didn't find anybody behind. Remus must have found them with his super nose. His abilities had always increased near full moon, making him an excellent look out for their pranks. He must have sent the other two to ambush them from the other sides. They were in for it now…

Minerva McGonagall was patrolling the corridors in her Animagus form when she heard the noise. She turned back to her human form and peered down from the corridor to see a gangly puppy and young stag run toward the door, followed by a Slytherin and two Gryffindors. All three of them were soaking wet. Her eyebrows rose when the red head girl grabbed the two boys and dragged them to an alcove near the entrance as they all heard a crash and a yelp that sounded like a mixture of human and dog. She hurried down the stairs as she heard the loud barking, and she saw the three young students run towards the door. She was about to call out to them in anger when they vanished into thin air. Minerva stood frozen as she heard footsteps hurry out of the door. Only when she heard a distant yelp did she snap out of her shock and move out to find empty grounds and a groaning Mr Filch on the floor.

When he saw her, he started going on about how he was going to die because he saw the Grim and it ate Mrs Norris. Minerva barely managed to not roll her eyes and informed him that she saw the cat running towards the staircase. She was always astounded at the speed he could run when he wanted. As she watched him run off, she peered into the grounds bathed in moonlight and saw nobody. She turned back, kept the door open by an inch and stood watching near the darkened alcove.

Around twenty minutes later, she heard voices before she saw the group. First years. They were all first years. The Slytherin must have come to fight against her lions or the Gryffindor had forced the young snake to meet them. She recognised some among the young group, the thin, little Mr Lupin, the white sheep of the Blacks, and the only Slytherin, the talented Snape. He always had that look in his eyes, like he knew her, but she knew she was overthinking things.

The group wasn't even looking in her direction as they entered the entrance hall. She saw them laugh and comment on the still open door. Three of her five looked like they had fought the entire forest and all its inhabitants, while the other three looked very smug. Anger rose within her, but before she could put them all in detention and deduct points, she heard them speak, and her jaw hit the floor. The young Potter was praising Snape's spellwork, while the red headed girl, Ms Evans, was holding Potter's and Snape's hand in each of her own. The entire group was laughing and completely at ease with each other. If they had been wearing clothes without their houses' crests, she would have thought they were friends from years.

If her jaw could go lower, it just did when Black pulled Snape in a mocking headlock and messed up his hair before letting go. It was common knowledge that the young Black and the house of snakes did not go well together. The entire school expected the Black heir to go to Slytherins, but he adamantly refused to associate himself with their house. They separated at the staircase, her cubs going up towards the tower, while Mr Snape went down towards the dungeons. She blinked in astonishment when Lupin shook Snape's hand and traded knowing grins. Evans threw her arms around Snape, and he held her in a loose embrace before Potter cleared his throat pointedly. Lily stuck her tongue at him and kissed Snape on the cheek. They went their separate ways, and Snape was followed with teasing shouts of "good nights", "sweet dreams" and "don't let the snakes bite!" from Pettigrew, Potter and Black, while the other two shushed them. She always thought of Pettigrew as timid and shy, but here he was teasing a Slytherin and wandering around the halls at night.

She stood there gobsmacked. Never in her years at the school had she seen a group of Slytherins and Gryffindors being friends. She eventually moved, still in shock and completed her patrol in a daze, still thinking about what she saw in those six students. Peeves was painting a rude symbol on the wall, and he gaped at her as she passed, completely lost in her thoughts. First years casting perfect disillusionment charms! She had to inform Albus about this. He had asked her to inform him if she saw any out of the ordinary behaviour, and this definitely fit the description. She just hoped they would not break this friendship in fear of their housemates. It was only when she returned to her chambers and got ready for bed she remembered she didn't punish them or give detentions. She forgot about the stag, the grim, and that three of her students had not been there when the other three had run out of the main door as she thought about the first inter-house friendship she had seen in a very long time.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the queen J.K. Rowling and this is just a work of fanfiction.

Author notes:

Hi! I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY! You can guess my level of procrastination, right?

This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. That story is mind-blowing and you should check it out.

Thank you for all the reviews, you guys are awesome!

Hope you like it! Enjoy!

I love my awesome beta, HogwartsDreamer113!

 **Chapter 12- The Room of Requirement**

After their trip to the forbidden forest, the boys and Lily found themselves sitting in the Room of Requirement in the evenings. Remus and Lily preferred to complete their homework and research in the Room rather than their noisy common room. The boys were also experimenting with the room's ability to lock and secure themselves in for the approaching full moon. It was two weeks away, and from next week Remus would be sore with fevers, body pain and would come close to losing his legendary patience. Sirius used to joke that the irritation was because the wolf within missed hanging out with Artemis, the goddess of the moon. Remus would usually respond by whacking him on the head with a heavy book. Their trip to the forest had broken the remaining ice between the marauders and the lone Slytherin. Now Remus and Severus were often found discussing books, essays, spells. Lily often joined them while the rest of the boys took to shaking their heads and continuing their work.

The marauders also got many pranking insights from Severus. They knew Lily had good ideas, but they never expected it from Snape. He claimed it was due to surviving seven years of Weasley twins, but the marauders teased that he was a prankster at heart. They had already pranked Malfoy with an idea from the muggle story called Rapunzel. They had charmed his hair to grow so long that if they let it down from the Gryffindor tower, it should reach the ground. If anyone tried to cut it off, it would grow double the speed, double the length. Severus reported it took an hour and a half for Professor Slughorn to find the counter curse, and the dormitory was buried with mountains of blonde hair. It seems Malfoy had tried cutting it off a couple of times before giving up and calling the professor.

The experiments with the Room of Requirements were going without a hitch. They had asked for a safe place for Remus and had gotten a beautiful, dense forest. The forest was perfect for them to run around. On exploring, they found a clear stream that led to a small pond, a small clearing with soft grass and a cosy looking cave within the forest. They tried to find the end of the forest, but it felt infinite. Intrigued by this, Lily and Severus experimented with many other places. So far, they all visited a perfect replica of Venice, Italy and the Caribbean. The last was a favourite among all of them.

They often came back to the beach. They sat in hammocks tied to coconut trees, robes discarded and sleeves rolled up as they watched the sun set in the water. After dark, the room would light up with torches and campfires. Peter had gotten a packet of marshmallows from the kitchen, and they toasted them on the campfire. Sirius and James often dragged Peter and Remus into the water. James and Lily also went for a couple of long romantic walks on the infinite beach. On a rare occasion, Severus had also joined the lions in the water. Lily knew she would treasure that evening forever.

They also experimented with the room's ability to lock the marauders inside during moonrise. Sirius would enter the room and transform into his Animagus form. Lily and Severus would then try to enter the same room, and if the room would open, Sirius would "attack" them. When Lily and Severus tried to enter, they just saw a blank wall. Next, Sirius had asked for a normal room, and Lily tried entering while he was using it, but could not. It seemed when the room was occupied, someone else could not use it. If the person inside allowed or were expecting others, it would open, but not otherwise.

After their daily experiments, they asked for their usual study room and sat in comfortable armchairs and couches in front of a roaring fire. The room was a mixture of Gryffindor and Slytherin colours and had a very homey feeling to it. They loved the study as much as their common rooms. The room had a huge bookshelf, filled with many books on potions, healing, wards, defence and attacking strategies. Surprisingly, there were many books on the Dark Arts. Lily had given the task to Peter and Sirius to check them, and they had obediently gone and scoured all the books in search of any information relating to soul magic. They found a small reference to something called horcrux, but had no further details apart from mentioning it was one of the vilest practices. Sirius promised to do further research during the Christmas holidays.

The room had also given a beautiful potion lab area for Severus. James demanded for a list of all ingredients Severus would need and had mail ordered them. Severus and Lily had already brewed and stocked up on all the basic potions they might need. The wolfsbane potion was bubbling away in its cauldron, almost ready for Remus to drink. They had to be careful with the wolfsbane as it was not invented yet.

"I am hungry," whined Sirius.

"Then go down to the kitchen," replied Remus without looking up as he searched the index of a thick potion book.

"Why can't the room give us food? That's my requirement! This room isn't that great if it can't provide us food …" Sirius ranted, but before he could continue his sentence, he vanished. The rest looked up in alarm, while Severus didn't notice or he chose to ignore them as he added the last ingredients to the wolfsbane potion in the lab. Before they could decide whether to go look for Sirius or wait for him, they heard someone banging on the door. Lily rushed to open it and found a fuming Sirius standing there. His hair was covered with cobwebs and his trousers were wet in only one leg. He stomped inside and threw a dirty look at the portrait of a snake and lion sleeping above the fireplace.

"What happened?" James asked, barely stifling his laughter.

"I'll tell you what happened. I think Hogwarts has a very bad sense of humour. It threw me into an _ancient_ broom cupboard! I don't think Filch has opened this one in years! But a bucket was perfectly positioned to greet me!" Sirius indicated his wet trouser leg as he threw himself into an armchair. There was a loud pop and the chair vanished, and Sirius fell to the ground in a heap. Everyone began sniggering as Sirius whipped out his wand and started threating the room.

"You know Black, this castle is sentient and she is very proud. You don't want to be kicked out, do you?" Severus drawled as he sat down in an armchair, wiping his hands in a waste cloth.

Sirius glared at him, and then slowly lowered his wand. Remus turned his attention back into his essay before bolted upright with an "OH!"

"What is it?" asked Peter.

"You know, this room can open a passage to Hog's Head and various other rooms in the castle. I am sure it can open to the kitchens too!" He said, excitedly.

"Whoa! We can visit Hogsmeade? How do you know this?" James asked, his mind already planning a trip to the village.

Remus cleared his throat nervously and glanced at Severus. "You know, the day I …" he trailed off. "Anyways, before the battle, we evacuated the younger students through this room into Hog's Head to escape the fight. I had heard couple of students commenting that the room opened many passages for them to escape the Carrows throughout the year."

"Let's go then! Can we have a passage to the kitchens please?" requested Peter in a sweet voice. He was answered by a door materialising to their right. Lily and Remus closed their books as the others were already crowding around the door. The door led to a huge circular staircase with torches. After walking down, a dizzying number of steps, the staircase ended behind a portrait. They pushed it open and stepped out to find the entrance of the kitchens to their right. They tickled the pear and were soon seated around a table with hot chocolate and biscuits.

"So, what do you think? The room is safe enough for me?" Remus asked with a hint of nervousness.

"Don't be so melodramatic Lupin. No one will be able to enter the room. You mutts will be safe inside," declared Severus as he helped himself to a sugar cookie. James, Peter and Sirius bristled at the name while Remus rolled his eyes.

"So, we just need to convince Dumbledore now. We still haven't talked to him about our situation yet…" added Remus.

"We will. It is quite late now. We will approach him tomorrow or the day after. We need to get him alone. I have seen Professor McGonagall staring at us when she thought we aren't looking. We need to be a bit more careful." James commented.

"Aww, come on. Minnie is the sweetest," Sirius exclaimed.

"Alright, that's enough, let's get going. I want to finish that book on warding before dinner," Lily announced as she stood up.

The three marauders stood and bowed to Lily with a chorus of "Yes, your highness" and ran off before Lily could hex them. Remus and Severus rolled their eyes and walked back with Lily towards the kitchen entrance. They climbed through the secret door back to their study in the Room of Requirement, pushing, joking, and teasing each other with a smile on all their faces, each of them thinking the same thing. They were happy to have another chance at living again.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the Queen J.K.R and this is just a work of fanfiction.

Author notes:

Hey people. I am alive! Sorry I have been away for so long. I recently got engaged and am going to get Married! *squeal* So been quite busy managing that and my job and so many other things… But here is the next chapter! Hope you like it!

This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. Do check it out.

A huge thanks to all those who reviewed, followed and favorited. Thank you for waiting so patiently.

My beta HogwartsDreamer113 rocks!

 **Chapter 13: Lemon Drop anyone?**

Dinner in Hogwarts were always loud. The clatter of utensils, laughter, shouting from the children, ghosts talking to others and students entering, leaving through the doors. As a teacher, Severus always found the noise irritating. Now he found it comforting. It gave him a sense of belonging and the odd friendship with the group of Lions across the hall gave him what he wanted all those years ago, the feeling of family.

Tonight, the Great Hall was just as loud as every night, but Severus was in no mood to take part in the chatter. Over at the Gryffindor table, he could see a tired looking Lupin playing with his food and the others coaxing him to eat.

As the time to meet Dumbledore grew closer, Severus's appetite went further and further away. He could see the worry in some of the first year Slytherins' eyes, hidden behind their masks and he tried to eat and make conversion for their sake. Over at the Gryffindor table, the three Marauders were making a ruckus like always. Remus was talking softly with Lily and she looked two steps away from fussing over him.

When dinner was done, the five met up and began their trek up to Dumbledore office. With each step Severus' dread grew. His mind gave him images, memories…

 _He could see Dumbledore standing, unarmed and cornered. Draco standing, shaking and unable to utter the curse. Bellatrix and Fenrir gleeful to have the opportunity to watch one of the greatest wizards die. He could see Dumbledore pleading and him, obliging the man's last wish. Uttering that hateful curse, the bright green flash, Dumbledore falling out of the tower. His mind supplying the sound of his mentor's body hitting the cold ground. Running. Always running away. Lily's son chasing him in his rage, calling him a coward. His despair, rage, hate and unfairness boiling out and taking it out on Harry._

He was pulled out of his horrible memories when a soft warm hand touched his face. He was startled to see he was sitting on the floor and Lily crouching in front of him.

"Sev?" Lily asked worriedly.

Severus shrugged off her hand and stood up. "I am fine," he snapped. They walked in heavy silence until they reached the gargoyle guarding the office of the headmaster.

"What do you think the password is?" asked Peter.

"Sherbet lemon," Remus and Severus replied simultaneously.

They all bit back a grin as the gargoyle began to move. The circular steps led them into the door and just as Sirius raised his hand to knock, they heard the headmaster call out to enter. The office was exactly how they all remembered it. The various delicate instruments were cluttered around the circular office. Fawkes was resting on his majestic perch, head under his wing. The headmasters and headmistress were all snoozing in their portraits, but all of them knew they were only pretending. In the center of the room, behind the desk sat the person they came to see, Albus Dumbledore himself. His bright blue eyes were twinkling behind the half-moon spectacles. His blue robe was filled with silver stars and the long white hair was shimmering in the light. Lily used to joke she always wanted to braid that hair and beard.

"Lemon drops anyone?" asked Dumbledore.

Everyone shook their head with a small "No sir" and "Thank you sir". Severus mutely shook his head. He had discussed strategies with him, even fought with him! Why was he acting like a child now?

"What I can do for you all today?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, you see… umm…" James started.

"I don't think I should transform in the Shrieking Shack anymore, Professor," interrupted Remus.

"Yes sir, I believe we have found the perfect place for Remus to transform safely. There is a room in the seventh floor which may suit our purposes…" Severus zoned out as Sirius started to explain. Within him, it was a completely different battle. Now that he was in front of Albus, he really didn't want to talk to him. His knees felt wobbly and guilt was rising like bile in his stomach. He just hoped he wouldn't collapse like last time, in front of Dumbledore. Lily's hand in his was the only thing stopping him from breaking down completely. As Dumbledore's piercing gaze moved to him, and as he stared into those blue eyes, it was hard to swallow the lump in his throat. He turned away, unable to face his mentor.

"Severus."

Severus's eyes burned. The last time he heard that voice saying his name, he had cast the unforgivable curse at him.

"Thank you for keeping your word, my boy."

Severus whipped around in shock. The same shock that was mirrored in the others' faces. Dumbledore smiled apologetically.

"You know?" Severus whispered.

"I do Severus. It was such a shock to wake up in my Hogwarts quarters three days before term opening. When I saw your young faces among the first years, it hit me quite hard about the losses we faced during the war. I am terribly sorry, Severus. You had to endure so much torment to fulfill my request. I will not fail you again. There are no words that can describe how proud I am, of all of you. I have yet to change a day in this past's events, but you all have already started to make this world a better place," Dumbledore replied with a sad yet proud smile. Severus gripped Lily's hand as he willed himself to not to cry. A single tear slipped out of Lily's eyes. Peter was sniffling quietly and the others were trying not to break down too.

Just when Severus thought he was going to lose the battle with his will, the blue eyes moved from him to Peter. "Mr. Pettigrew." That was all it took for Peter to go from sniffling to full blown sobbing.

"I AM SORRY…. HEADMASTER! Please don't…send me…away! I will not… be such a…. coward… Please… forgive…me..." He sobbed out. Remus, Sirius and James were quick to jump and console him.

Dumbledore smiled as he watched them console the sobbing boy. "I know, . You have known the warmth of true friendship, and this time you fully believe it. That is all that matters."

Lily asked hesitantly, "Headmaster, how did you know we were back too?"

"Well, I heard about Mr. Snape standing up for his Muggleborn classmates, how you four defeated some wayward Slytherins and how exceptional you all are in your classes with knowledge way above your peers. I believe I got the final confirmation When Minerva came in with an incredible story to tell. How three first year students could perform perfect disillusionment charm to leave the castle. She also mentioned how some of her lions were close with young Mr. Snape. The conclusion was inevitable," Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling with amusement while the gang flushed at being caught.

"I never knew Min- I mean, Professor Mcgonagall saw us…" mumbled Severus. Dumbledore's eyes again found his and he breath hitched. Here it comes….

"What happened after the events in the Astronomy tower?"

As Severus and Remus began to explain, with Peter adding any left-out details about what happened to the wizarding world after Dumbledore's death, the rest too found some untold details about the old future. Remus had told about Tonks much to Sirius' glee but they had never heard that he had almost left her when she was pregnant. Lily and James were reduced to tears when they heard it was Harry who sent him back to his wife. They explained how everything dismantled, what the ministry did to Muggleborns, how powerless Snape was to stop the Carrows from cursing his students, how he got the sword of Godric Gryffindor to Harry on the orders of Dumbledore's portrait. How he finally gave his memories to Harry as he was dying. Dumbledore's eyes slowly lost the twinkle as the story went on and the rest were moved to tears. In the end his expression was grim.

"Severus, Peter and Remus, thank you for explaining. We have lot to do to make sure this doesn't repeat again. I will not let Harry go through all that again," Dumbledore said solemnly and everyone nodded furiously. "Severus, you had asked me what did Harry and I discussed during those various evenings in my office. I shall explain everything and what we discovered. I will need your help in stopping Tom this time."

Severus nodded and replied, "Of course headmaster."

Dumbledore smiled. "So, about your request,"

The gang started, having forgotten the main reason of being here in the knowledge of Dumbledore being back too. Remus spoke, "I will not to go to the Shrieking Shack this time, professor. The Room of Requirement has the capability to handle a tame werewolf and three Animagus. We have tested it thoroughly. Severus has brewed me an improved version of Wolfsbane. It will be easier to avoid incidents like last time."

"Not to worry Remus. I think it is a splendid idea. I too will see the Room once. Maybe, add an extra ward around that floor. I had managed to stumble upon that room once. Two lifetimes and Hogwarts still manages to surprise me," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Now, isn't it past your curfew?"

The rest understood the dismissal and bid the man goodnight as they turned to the door to leave. As they left Dumbledore's voice made them pause.

"Last time we almost lost everything we created and loved. This time, I promise you I will not fail to protect it. The smiles and laughter I see makes me happy and determined to protect it. I will not let you down again," the voice was laced with sadness and pain and each of them knew it was a promise they all would keep. Fawkes gave a soft melodious thrill that warmed everyone's heart.

This future would be different. The smile on everyone's face showed only one thing. Hope. Dumbledore smiled at them and watched them leave. Hell would have to freeze over before he would let the hope die. The sound of Lily laughing and the Sirius yelling echoed from the circular staircase and he smiled.

Hope was a fire that the darkness could never vanquish, and he would protect it till the end.


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to the Queen J.K.R and this is just a work of fanfiction._

 _Author notes:_

 _Hey all, I am so sorry! but not too sorry, Caz I just got married! And into the blissful honeymoon period of marriage. Could not get the time to open this up at all! Sorry!_

 _Here is the next chapter! Hope you like it!_

 _This story is inspired by 'They didn't know we were seeds' by LucyLuna. Do check it out._

 _A huge thanks to all those who reviewed, followed and favorited. Thank you for waiting so patiently. I love you all!_

 _A huge thanks to my beta HogwartsDreamer113 for her super-fast review!_

 **Chapter 14 - A wolf, a deer, a dog and a rat walk into a magical room...**

Running.

He was on a hunt.

He was the Wolf. The alpha predator. The leader of the pack. He took a deep breath. His nose filled with the sweet smell of his prey. Oh, he was so close. So close! He could hear his prey ahead.

He slowed down, he could catch it off-guard. he crouched low over a thick shrub and his body filled with anticipation. His fangs itched. His claws were out and drawing marks on the ground in anticipation. A little closer, just a few more steps... and...

CRASH!

His jump was interrupted midair by strong antlers. As he crashed to the ground, the large animal landed on its feet gracefully and bounded off again. The sound alerted his prey and it too had bounded off. The wolf huffed in annoyance. Now it had to track all over again. It paced in the ground, it's tail swishing through the air. A new smell alerted its nose. He turned sharply to its right. A small rat poked its's head out of the bush. The rat lifted its paw and pointed in the direction to the left.

If a wolf could grin, it would have. The predator laid down, and the rat climbed on and held fast with its tiny paws. The prey was theirs. It howled at the full moon as she showed herself in all her glory, bathing the foliage around in it's beautiful light.

The wolf bounded to the left and found what he was looking for. It was thirsty from all the running and lake was what he needed, and it was what he found. He padded to the bank and lapped up the cool water. The rat too jumped down and went down to the shore.

The wolf stared at the clear water. It was waiting for something to happen.

The back of its neck tingled, and it waited.

It heard the bushes rustle but it waited.

In one split second, it turned and met teeth.

The teeth of death.

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The grim was not used to be hunted. Alight, that was a lie. It was hunted for many years till it died; and now it was being hunted again! He ran and ran and ran. He would not be caught again. He was the color of shadow. Easy to blend in the mid night forest floor. He heard his hunter closing in; the instinct of prey and fear gripped his heart.

And then came his savior. The majestic buck, while young, had a strong head (which everyone knew) and butted the wolf in the face mid jump. The wolf landed a heap, and the stag bounced off again. The grim spared no time. It ran for its life. Around the lake was strong foliage where he could hide.

This time the predator would become the prey. He waited for the wolf. He knew it hated losing its prey. The Grim sat waiting for the wolf to drink water. In one single leap, the Grim sprang from his place and flew at the wolf's neck. The Wolf turned at the last minute to meet his sharp teeth.

The two of them fought for another couple of minutes. If they had any other audience, they would think they were fighting to the death but the stag and the rat that were watching, were not afraid.

Instead, the stag was more exasperated. This was the fifth time that night! He snorted and proceeded to drink from the lake, making sure to point his rump at the two dogs.

The squeak from Wormtail was only a split-second warning that the two were no longer fighting and he held the honor of being the prey.

Two howls also confirmed the same thing. He did what any sane person-animal would do. He ran.

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Wormtail was having the time of his life. He was back to running, carefree and with the people he loved. He loved to climb and hold on as his friends ran. He felt like a cowboy from all those comics of the Mad Muggle. He just seen Padfoot barely escape Moony and hitched a ride on the wolf as he traced back his prey. He was nowhere like the huge monster like creature he had seen when Sirius had broken out of Azkaban. This werewolf looked like a wolf. He was brownish-grey and had small ears. He looked a bit bigger than an average wolf, or so Wormtail thought. His legs were strong, and his body was lithe yet gave off a sense of power. He had the aura of a pack Alpha. He was nothing like the old Remus back in their school. That wolf had suffered at the hands of wizards and was defeated. It had always looked like it was starved of everything. Remus had been scared of it and never gave it power or affection.

Now, Remus had accepted his inner wolf. This wolf knew his pack. He knew his family loved him and would be with him. This wolf was supported by his wizard. It cared little for the prejudice of wizards. This wolf had the memories and strength of an enduring leader.

When they both reached a beautiful crystal-clear lake, Wormtail hopped off the wolf to drink some water. For a few minutes, the only sounds were the soft sounds of the trees and its inhabitants and the gentle lapping of water. Wormtail' s instincts told him they were not alone. He turned towards the wolf and saw he felt it too. He was waiting for the attacker to make a move. With one swift move, the wolf and the dog leapt at each other and began their dog fight.

Wormtail heard hooves behind him and saw the young buck making his way to the lake. The look in his eyes was very familiar. Prongs looked like he wanted to laugh, roll his eyes and head butt the two dogs. Wormtail remembered the few times they had gone on daring walks near the forest before, when James's would look the same way as the wolf and the dog fought.

Prongs being Prongs, made sure to snort loudly and turned his back on the two predators and drink from the lake. He wanted to snicker as the two dogs stopped their fight, Moony's ears in Padfoot's mouth and Padfoot's tail in Moony's. As the two dogs let each other go with a glance and crouched to jump on the buck, Wormtail squeaked and the buck looked up. The buck cantered away, immediately followed by the two dogs.

Wormtail of course, being the wisest of the group, climbed the near by large rock and watch the bushes shake and the night birds squawk in protest of the three large animals roughhousing. Eventually after a long chase and with some close calls for Prongs, they all stumbled back to the lake and collapsed near the banks, panting.

After taking a few minutes to catch their breath, Padfoot got up and pulled something out from one of the tree's hollow and barked excitedly. The other three got up, curious on what he found. Before they reached what was making Padfoot's tail wag so excitedly, they smelt it. Gorgeous heaven-sent food. Roasted meats and meat loaves. An entire roasted chicken and drumsticks. Bread and Cheese. Various fresh, plump vegetables and fruits tied loosely in a blanket. All four of them leapt at the delicious food and chaos reigned for a while.

Padfood and Moony were fighting over the best cut of meat, while growling at Wormtail who kept sneaking bites of the good cuts. Wormtail helped himself to both meat and the vegetables kept and loved the fresh cheese. Prongs was bust munching away on the bowl of fresh oats and some acorns. He loved the juicy grapes, pears and apples, and he had only Wormtail for competition.

Soon, the food was empty, the blanket torn to shreds by the mid-food fights of the two dogs, and all four were found collapsed, tangled on top of each other.

The morning sunshine found Remus trying to unsuccessfully untangle himself from under the other three heavy animals. It was only when Padfoot yelped when Remus managed to step on his tail that the rest woke up. They changed back, washed up at the cool waters of the lake, and got dressed. Remus had never felt better. Usually after his changes, he would be bleeding from so many wounds inflicted by himself, tired out of his mind. Today, he felt so energetic and free. His wolf was satisfied. He remembered he was so hungry all the time before. In his previous life, he honestly did not know when the last time he had fed while being the wolf. Now, he felt free, powerful and happy. He did not even remember changing back from the wolf to wizard.

As they walked out of the door teasing and laughing, Remus looked back the room and felt the energy of Hogwarts hum, like a warm hug. He smiled and silently thanked the room and ran out towards his friends.

When the Marauders finally entered the great hall for breakfast and made their way towards the Gryffindor table, they felt several eyes staring at them. One, of course was Dumbledore. He smiled at them and gave them a small wink. The other was their head of the house, Prof Mcgonagall. She was staring worriedly at Lupin as if he would fall any minute. Next, was Madam Pomfrey. She was staring at Remus too, alternating between happy looks at his totally healthy, laughing face and longing to drag him to the infirmary to give him a once over. The other person who was staring quite subtly though, was Severus. He caught Remus's eye and gave him a small nod before looking away.

Lily was not even pretending to stare. She stood up and waved them over. As soon as they sat down, she rapid fire questioned them on Remus's heath, the room all the while pilling food on Remus's plate. James and Sirius tried to interrupt her while Remus and Peter watched with amusement. It went on and on until Sirius managed to shut her up by stuffing a piece of toast in her mouth.

While she spluttered and worked on swallowing her toast, the boys helped themselves with the food Lily had piled on Remus's plate. A whack to Sirius's head told them Lily was finished eating the stuffed toast.

"Thank you for the food Lily," Remus gently told her before she started her tirade again.

"So, it was ok? Was it enough for all of you?" Lily inquired with a smile.

"Wait, the food was from you?" Sirius asked.

"Sweet Merlin, Remember the room kicking you out? Is this ringing any bells in your head? The room can't create the food on its own," James responded by rolling his eyes.

"Yes Sirius, Severus and I went down to the kitchens and asked the house elves to prepare the food and leave it in the Room of Requirements for you. I guess the room kept it perfectly for you," Lily replied with a fond smile.

Wormtail replied with enthusiasm that almost knocked the jug of pumpkin juice, "oh yes, it was absolutely yummy. Thank you, Lily! You will be doing this every time right?"

Lily laughed and assured him they would, while the rest just shook their head. This was how a full moon should end, they all were thinking. With smiles and laughter. Cheer and happiness. Not hurrying to the hospital wing. Not leaving a bleeding Remus to be found by Madam Pomfrey. Not being able to help Remus more. Every full moon should end like this, and they would make it happen.

Author notes: Hey guys, I might have tweaked a bit about the werewolf transformation and stuff to fit in my logic. In third movie, we saw the werewolf look like a beast, but I think it was starved of affection of its pack, hunger and, also the approval of Remus himself. He saw the Werewolf as a curse and hated it. I wanted Remus to accept his wolf truly and fully here. I hope it made this chapter justice.


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